The Awakening
by DreamWalker Shawn
Summary: Two sleeping dragons - one a sacred ally of makind, the other its sworn destroyer. Two heroes marked with the symbols of the dragons. Their meeting heralds the dragon's awakening - and the world's ending.
1. Premonition

***Here's some house cleaning I'd like to get out of the day before you read on***

 **1\. This story will be told from the point of view of the character avatar Robin, who for this telling shall be male.**

 **2\. I'll include as much from the game as I can to make it so that it really is a novelization of Awakening's story, however, I will add or change some things at my discretion if it will enhance the story, please let me know how well this works.**

 **3\. Right now, as far as pairings, there are only two that I have decided on for sure that makes the most sense for the stories sake. However, if no one has any preferences, I will be using the pairings for the characters from my playthrough.**

 **4\. Important support conversations between various characters will take place between the main chapter titles from the game, as you can tell from the title of this first entry, I plan to make that consistent.**

 **5\. Enjoy! I did a quick search earlier and saw just how many people were doing the "novelization of Awakening's story" so the fact you're here reading mine is something I truly appreciate**

 **The Awakening**

 **Premonition - Invisible Ties**

 **The Dragon's Table: Plegia**

"This is it, Robin! Our final battle! You're one of us, no matter what others or even fate itself may say!"

 _Oh, my head._ The white haired man thought to himself, barely registering the other who was speaking to him. He heard the words, and only just processed them barely through his semi working mind. _Is he talking to me? He called me Robin. I suppose that's my name_. He had no idea who this blue haired swordsman was, where he was, only a name and a vague idea of WHO he was, and absolutely no clue as to why the scene before him looked like it was playing out the end of the world.

"Fools!" A deep and condescending voice called out to the duo from the darkness from where black and purple energy crackled from around his very being. "You cannot turn back the tide of destiny and what's fated to happen! The Fell Dragon Grima will return and you can't do anything to stop it!"

"We'll see about that!" The blue haired swordsman shouted defiantly as he pointed his rather elaborate looking sword at the spellcaster. "Robin, let's do this!" And he charged forwards, sword drawn high in a stance ready for battle.

Robin (as he now knew that this was his name) found that in his left hand, he was carrying a thick tome. A magical book which could let him shoot lightning from his fingertips. He knew magic? Even more strangely, a sword that had a jagged blade and crackled with electricity was currently being held in his right hand. He knew how to fight with a sword? More and more questions began piling up as Robin took in his current situation.

Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, he began charging as well, following his companion and as he did so, energy began forming around his left hand, it channeled through the rest of his body and then shot out in a conducted beam of lightning out of the end of his sword.

The dark mage they were fighting, simply vanished with a puff of dark purple smoke with a mocking cackle and the lightning that Robin had sent at him, struck the walls opposite and created a mighty earth shattering boom and brought the rocks crashing down. Suddenly, the mysterious foe rematerialized behind him and his blue haired companion and without knowing how or why, Robin shouted, "Chrom, look out!"

So that was the blue haired swordsman's name… Chrom… Once again, Robin had no idea how or why he knew this but the warning came just in time for his ally to block a dark strike that surely would have been a lethal blow with his sword. The sound of high pitched ringing steel sounded through and Chrom struck out with his weapon to attempt to catch his opponent off guard.

The dark mage simply laughed again and produced out of thin air an ethereal sword which had the same dark aura pulsating around the blade. This time, Robin jumped forward with the sword, swinging it in a murderous arc, but he simply parried the blow and returned the favor with his own rapid slash.

Robin blocked the sword and as he did so, brought his arm back to deliver a swift counterattack and his weapon, crackling with that same electricity, screeched through the slightly glowing blade of his adversary and he scored a major cut on the other man's arm.

The spellcaster growled with fury and struck out again at Robin, angered by the injury he caused him, but the white haired man brought his sword up to block the path of his sword. Out of patience, the dark mage simply jumped back and the sword vanished out of his hand. He instead pulled out his own dark tome and began sending bolts of energy streaking towards Robin and Chrom, hoping to overwhelm them with the amount of dark projectiles soaring the air.

Chrom ducked one, blocked another and rolled out of the way of a third. He began running towards the dark mage again and he shouted, "Robin now!"

 _Now what?_ Robin thought but that question would be answered. He sheathed his sword and in what definitely felt like an out of body experience, he felt the energy from the book in his hand coursing over his entire body, it felt like he really was becoming the lightning itself. Then with an enormous shout, he shot the biggest beam of lightning that he had conducted so far. Not at their foe however. At Chrom.

Robin started to panic, what was he doing? He was going to kill this man who at least seemed to be his friend, he had so many questions to ask, and he would be responsible for the death of the only man who could possibly answer them AND in addition, be stuck with a very angry dark mage to still deal with as well. However, this panic subsided as he saw the beam of lightning shoot straight into Chrom's sword and it began to glow and crackle from the overload of energy that Robin had just shot into it.

Chrom advanced with a loud battle cry and a flame in his eyes that even made their enemy startle a little from this. He began to desperately shoot more orbs of dark energy hoping to stop Chrom's relentless charge. The blue haired swordsman still did get hit by a couple of these, but he pressed on regardless. Finally, when he was within striking distance of the dark mage, he let out a final yell of exertion that seemed to resonate all of his strength and slashed mightily at the other man.

There was a flash and a huge crackle of lightning as jagged bolts danced throughout the air out of Chrom's sword. The dark mage let out a terrible scream and shouted, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" before his body disintegrated and shattered with light.

Robin slumped to the floor. Exhausted at the energy he had used to transfer all of that power into Chrom's sword. He heard the sound of boots ringing on hard stone ground and saw worried blue eyes looking into his own.

Chrom lifted Robin to his feet and said, "By the gods, Robin but that was close! Looks like we've won the day. We can rest easy now."

Robin tried to thank the man for his assistance and was about to fire off a torrent of questions before he realized something. He couldn't speak. _Why can't I talk?_ Robin thought desperately and again, he tried to force something, anything out of his mouth! He had just fought this life or death battle with an extremely powerful spellcaster with a man who was obviously his friend but had no memory of who he was supposed to be.

Then Robin froze. He started seeing red in his eyes and began feeling a pain in his head so intense that he wanted to just scream in agony. But as before, no sound left his lips.

"Hey," Chrom's voice sounded from what seemed like a long way away. "Hey are you alright? Listen to me, you're going to be alri—"

A strangled cry escaped from Chrom and his eyes widened suddenly in both shock and pain.

Robin looked down at his hands and saw more of that electricity crackling around it. And only a short ways away from his hand, a jagged bolt of lightning struck straight through Chrom's chest.

 _NO!_ Robin thought desperately. _I didn't mean to! How did I?- WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME?!_

Despite this however, Chrom simply looked at Robin not with blame in his eyes or condemnation… But understanding.

"This…. This wasn't your fault… Promise me… Promise me you'll escape…" And with the last of his energy spent forgiving the actions of his friend, he collapsed. Dead.

"NOOO!" This time, a terrible scream of regret did escape from Robin's lips as he too, collapsed to his knees next to Chrom's limp body. _Why?_ Robin thought to himself desperately. _Why do I feel like this? I barely know who this man is and I feel like I've just betrayed my own brother!_

Suddenly, that same deep resonating cackle from before sounded. Not just from one area. But from all around him that laughter rang out. Mocking, cruel, and showing absolutely no mercy or sympathy for what had just happened.

In vain, Robin tried to cover his ears, hoping to any gods which might exist in the world that the laughter could just simply stop. But as if to mock his efforts to try to stop it, it simply grew louder and more hysterical in turn and he could actually feel it shaking him to the core and soon, Robin fell onto the floor, desperately trying to escape this feeling. He just wanted it to stop. He didn't care if he died here and now. Anything to escape from that awful sound. Then, a voice somehow clear enough to penetrate that horrible laughter, spoke. Not from anywhere in the room, but in Robin's mind. And the voice was chilling, and terrifying, but what was worse, was the words said.

"It has been completed. You've played your part, now I will return and wreak death and destruction, upon the world!" A second chorus of evil laughter began to sound out as well and Robin screamed in agony from all this, it was too much for him to handle, then he heard what sounded like a dragon's roar, but not a majestic sounding one, no… This sounded like something from the very depths of hell itself… Then he saw a horrific face and glowing red eyes. Then… nothing.

 ***AN* I hope you all enjoyed that, please leave me some criticism if you think something should be done better, I'll try to upload as frequently as I can, and even though other people have tried to do novelizations of Awakening's plot, I didn't see many that went all the way through to the end, and so, here begins my own endeavor! If you enjoyed what you read here, please give me a follow so you can stay in the loop for everytime I upload! And if you know friends that would be interested in reading this, please share with them! Thanks!**


	2. Prologue: The Verge of History

**Prologue: The Verge of History**

 **Somewhere on the Outskirts: Ylisse**

"Chrom… we have to do something!"

"What do you propose we do?"

"I- I dunno!"

He was lying down. He could feel soft grass at his back and felt that his eyes were glued tightly shut. He had just seen something terrible. Something terrifying… But he couldn't remember.

He tried with all his might, to remember anything about what he saw, but nothing came through. Only a slight feeling of dread and confusion. He now tried to piece together his current situation. He had no idea who he was. No idea where he was. No idea how he got to wherever he was at. He was an empty shell that had no idea how it got to be that way to begin with.

Then his deep, rich brown eyes opened. And when they did, he saw a young man, and a smaller, definitely younger girl. They both gasped in pleasant surprise to see him awaken. He took in their faces. The man was well built, had the look of a warrior about him, had medium length dark blue hair, wore an armor plate on his shoulder, a smile on his face, and a sword at his side. What was curious too was the symbol on his right arm that looked like a brand of some sorts. The girl was on the shorter side, wearing a dress that was a very pale shade of yellow, holding a staff, and her fair blonde hair styled into two ponytails on either side of her head.

"I see you're awake!" The man said as he grinned easily.

"Hey there!" The girl said and let out a small laugh.

"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground you know!" The blue haired man said, a trace of amusement in his voice. "Give me your hand." And he reached out.

 _Well, what's the worst that can happen_. He thought to himself, and reached out to take the stranger's offered hand. As he did so, he saw a strange symbol on his right hand. A purple mark with what looked like two rows of descending slanted eyes joined together on two crossing curved lines. As he was pulled up to his feet, his eyes, deep and brown looked into the blue ones of the man who had helped him up, and as he looked down at his features, saw that he was wearing a rather elaborate coat of black with purple trimmings and gold accents. And on the sleeves, the same pattern of linking purple eyes were there as well. He could feel a leather collar, and judging by the feeling on his upper back, had a hood that was currently drawn back as well.

"You alright?" The blue haired man asked him now with that easy grin of his.

"Y-yes…" And suddenly, seeing the other man make the positive face triggered something in his mind and he remembered… "Thank you, Chrom."

Chrom started slightly and with a quizzical air, replied, "Ah, then you know who I am?"

And that was the strangest thing… He never met this man before, yet he knew his name? Or had he met him and he just forgot? Coming to a decision, he just decided to be honest and only say what he knew for certain.

"No, actually, I… It's strange… Your name, it just… came to me…"

Chrom, definitely intrigued now, said, albeit with a short pause before speaking, "... Hmm, how curious." Shrugging that aside for now, he asked, "Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?"

A simple question… Asking for his name… If this question was so simple, why couldn't he find any answers for it? He tried racking his brain for anything, anything at all! But nothing came through and said hesitantly, as if he could stall for time so he could remember, "My name is… It's… Hmm?..." And he grimaced as he tried.

The faintest hint of suspicion began to manifest itself in Chrom's eyes and he asked, again after a pause, "... You don't know your own name?"

He hit his forehead with the flat of his palm lightly, as if that would help and said, "I'm not sure… I'm sorry, but where am I, exactly?"

This time, the young girl chimed in with a gasp as she seemingly had a revelation about something, "Hey, I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!"

"It's called a load of pegasus dung." Another voice said.

The white haired man looked around and saw another individual standing behind Chrom. He had a very stern, serious look about him and (at the moment) suspicion written all over his face. He wore a substantial suit of armor which had blued steel in some places, such as the chest and shoulder guards, and the shine of ordinary steel on his greaves and boots. Then, he realized that the man, who was obviously a knight, continued to speak.

"We're to believe you remember milord's name, but not your own?"

Now somewhat flabbergasted, the white haired man said (not with the utmost confidence since he didn't even know if it was himself), "B-but it's the truth!"

Chrom spoke again, "What if it IS true, Frederick? We can't just leave him here, alone and confused. What sort of Shepherds would we be then?"

The knight named Frederick, simply nodded curtly and said, "Just the same, milord, I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

Chrom, nodding himself, said, "Right then— we'll take him back to town and sort this out there."

Finally finding his voice again, the stranger asked nervously, "Wait just one moment! Do I have a say in this?"

Chrom held out his hands however in a gesture of non violence and said, "Peace, friend— I promise we'll hear all you have to say back in town. Now come."

Nodding to himself, the stranger resigned himself to this fate. After all, what else could he have done? Simply just remain where he was at in the field and just stay there forever? Of course not. At least this way, he could get some answers and these people, while being deservedly wary of him thus far, seemed friendly enough.

Frowning, he started thinking hard about the actions that led him to that exact spot at that exact point in time. What had happened? And furthermore, how did he know Chrom's name and even recognized his smile when the two men had never met before?

As they walked, he could almost feel the eyes of Frederick burning into his back as the knight kept an intense vigil over every action that he might take to harm his lord or lady.

After walking in silence for a short while, they saw a small town on the horizon and stopped for a short break. The three companions turned to face the white haired man and he himself, also came to a stop.

"What will you do with me?" He asked, now with a defensive look, "Am I to be your prisoner?" Regardless of what these three thought, he had done nothing wrong… That he knew of and he would hardly let himself be taken into the dungeons unjustly simply for laying in a field and failing to remember his own name.

Chrom let out a short bark of laughter. "Hah! You'll be free to go once we establish you're no enemy of Ylisse."

Ylisse. That sounded like the name of where they might be, but it never hurt to check so the stranger asked, "Is that where we are? Ylisse?"

"You've never heard of the halidom?" Frederick asked, and before giving the other a chance to respond, added, "Ha! Someone pay this actor. He plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing…"

"Frederick, please." Chrom said in an aside to his retainer. Then to the stranger, answered his question. "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order…"

Pointing at his own chest, Chrom said, "My name is Chrom— but then again, you already knew that." Patting the smaller blonde girl next to him on the head with a smile, he said, "The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

"I am NOT delicate!" Lissa interrupted fiercely and threw her arms up in exasperation at her older brother's words. Turning so that she could face the man directly, she said with a smile, "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes." She winked and added in a not so discreet whisper, "After all, he can be more brawn than brains at times."

Chrom had elected to pretend not to hear this as Lissa said, slightly more seriously but still keeping that warm smile on her face, "But you're lucky the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

The stranger heard the word, 'Shepherds'. His companions had been throwing around the word quite often so he decided to inquire about it. "Shepherds? You tend sheep? … With your weapons and in full armor?"

"Heh, it's a dangerous job." said Chrom, "Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

"A title I shall wear with pride." said the serious knight. "Gods forbid if one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution." Turning to the white haired man, he said in a slightly more reasonable tone of voice, "I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

The other man nodded, harboring no ill feelings towards the knight. He was just doing his duty after all. "I understand, sir. I would do no less myself." Suddenly, he heard a voice ringing in his mind. _This is it, Robin! Our final battle! You're one of us, no matter what others or even fate itself may say!_ And all of a sudden, the white haired man knew his name.

"My name is Robin." Frowning at what he had just said, he had no idea why he suddenly recalled his name. The memory was gone almost as soon as it had arrived, but he shook the notion away for now. "... I just remembered that. How odd. Well, I suppose that is one mystery solved."

"Robin? Is that foreign?" Chrom asked, then shrugged and said, "Ahh well. We can discuss it later." He added, "We're almost to town. Once we—"

He was interrupted by a shout from his little sister.

"Chrom, look! The town!"

Everyone turned in alarm to look at where Lissa was pointing and could see that the town was being burned to the ground.

"Damn it!" Chrom shouted. "The town is ablaze! Those blasted brigands, no doubt… Frederick, Lissa! Quickly!"

Frederick pointed to Robin and asked, "What about him?"

Chrom looked at Robin once and then said, "Unless he's on fire as well, it can wait!"

Frederick nodded simply. "Aptly put, milord."

"Let's go already!" Lissa said impatiently as she brandished her staff.

And with that, the trio ran off in the direction of the burning town.

Robin, reached a hand after them somewhat weakly and said, "But what about— Hmm…" He was at a crossroads now. Without Chrom or his retainer, Frederick keeping an eye over him to make sure he wouldn't escape, Robin could go anywhere now. He knew his name, knew at least the country where he was, and he was sure he could find another town with an inn as well.

He could run away, make do with what he had and start a new life for himself, living out an honest life in the countrysides of this beautiful land. But… He didn't know why, but he felt a strong sense of duty for Chrom. Which was odd, because he had never met him before up until that point. Noticing for the first time, Robin reached into his coat and found a tome there. It wasn't too thick but for some reason, he recognized it instantly as a basic thunder spell.

 _I know magic?_ Robin thought and after a moment, found the bronze sword at his side. Something clicked and his thoughts screamed, _I know magic! And I have a sword!_ Now steeled in his purpose, he grabbed the book tightly in his left hand, checked the sheathed sword at his side, and took off after the trio.

 ***AN* Thanks for reading my friends! I plan to upload these as often as I can, but again, PLEASE leave your reviews and criticisms for me so that I may improve my writing for y'all! Thanks again!**


	3. Prologue: The Verge of History (Cont)

**Hello all you beautiful people! Just some quick announcements before we get on into it!**

 **1\. Thanks so much for your views, in just the short time that my two chapters have been up to read, they've been viewed 84 times! Now, that not might seem like a lot to some veterans of this website, but for me, just starting out, it's huge! So seriously, thank you.**

 **2\. I've already received a couple reviews (which I will talk about in just a second), and it's great! However, if you guys could take the time to give me some criticism on anything you think needs improving, please do so!**

 **a. On the subject of one review though, I will not add lemons in this story. Sorry. There will be moments of love and passion later on and scenes which will implicitly imply that the deed is about to be done, but as for actually describing the deed itself, I won't be doing any of that. I'm sorry if this is disappointing to hear for some of you, and I know that those types of scenes can be done really well in a mature, non weird or creepy way. However, I do not feel that they will add much in terms of quality to this story (and trust me, I want to bring this story to you guys in a way that you think you're just reading Awakening's plot in an actual book! So again, my apologies, but there will be no explicit lemons in this story.**

 **3\. On the previous point however, just because there won't be any lemons, does not mean that there won't be adult content in any way. I gave this story an M rating for a reason as later on, in the parts of the game that Awakening underplayed such as loss of life when Grima was conquering the world, or the actual act of fighting a war, I will HEAVILY emphasize these aspects.**

 **4\. While the majority of the time, the story will be focused on Robin's point of view, it will occassionally switch around depending on if I think a scene works that way, or not.**

 **With that house cleaning out of the way, again, I appreciate your support so much and now, enough talking! Enjoy this new installment in The Awakening!**

 **Prologue: (Cont.)**

 **Southtown: Ylisse**

"Gwa ha ha!" The bandit leader known as Garrick cackled menacingly. "Get to it, lads! Grab anything shiny and put the rest to the torch!" Gesturing at the terrified, fleeing townspeople with a sweeping gesture to his men, he added, "We gots an example to set for these Ylissean types!" Brandishing his axe, he pointed the weapon at a cowering young woman at his feet and asked mockingly, "Ain't that right, lass?"

The terrified young woman cried out desperately, "S-stay away from me! Please! Someone! HEEEEEELP!"

Garrick simply laughed evilly at this plea for help. With a flick of his wrist gestured to the young woman, one of his men stepped forward, drew a sword and slit her throat.

With a strangled cry of pain and blood erupting from the slit throat as a result of the wound, the unfortunate young woman keeled over and continued to make those desperate, choked cries of pain until after a short amount of time, they stopped.

"BASTARDS!" A male voice shouted this time.

When Garrick's men had begun rounding up people in the town, he brought them to their knees while holding their hands behind their backs. The man who had cursed them now stood up violently and in a supreme show of strength, knocked back his captor which left his hand free. He grabbed the fallen sword and brandishing it above his head, he charged towards Garrick and his man that had just killed the woman.

"Pft. Probably the husband." Garrick scoffed. And gesturing to another one of his men, a mage this time, an orb of fire struck the charging man and he went ablaze.

Screaming as the fire scorched and burned his body, the ring of steel hitting stone was made as he dropped the sword and clawed hurriedly at the flames, in a feeble attempt to put them out. Eventually, his screams died away as well, just like his wife's did.

Garrick laughed in derision once again and to the other Ylissean hostages, he crowed a challenge. "Anyone else of you 'ere feel like tryin' to be the hero? Well go ahead, we're gonna kill you all anyways, but you'd sure make my job easier if you all provoke me into doin' somethin' reckless."

Just then, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick arrived and when the young warrior saw the terrible sight that met his eyes, he saw the small gathering of people near the town square and saw several bandits holding the Ylissean villagers hostage while threatening them with their weapons.

"Chrom!" The young girl cried out as she saw the people. "We have to stop them!"

"Don't worry—after today, these bandits won't be bothering anyone ever again!" The blue haired swordsman replied determinedly, but he saw the scores of bandits that littered their path through the streets of Southtown that they would undoubtedly have to fight through if they wanted to reach the square in time to save the villagers, also assuming that the bandits wouldn't just kill them straight away too as soon as they came close.

For the moment, the sudden arrival of the trio went unnoticed both by the townspeople, until an archer a little ways away, saw them and shouted, "Oy! You lot over there!" He immediately nocked an arrow to the string of his bow and after drawing the string back, released the shot.

"Milord, milady!" Frederick shouted as he put himself in front of Chrom and Lissa, "Get behind me!" The knight twisted to the side and the arrow screeched off his heavy, thick armor and bounced harmlessly to the ground.

Chrom ran out from behind his protector and after drawing his sword, saw more bandits running his direction. He rose to meet them head on while Frederick had hurled a javelin towards the offending archer.

The weapon soared through the air with tremendous speed and struck the bandit squarely through the chest. The man shrieked in pain as he saw the huge javelin impaled through his chest for just a split second, before falling off the platform and laying ominously still.

Chrom faced the first of his attackers, a man wielding a rather large axe, he stepped to the side while avoiding a blow that surely would have cleaved him in half. After avoiding the terrible weapon, he slashed cleanly in one smooth motion and opened a large wound in the bandit's chest which caused him to yell from the wound and fall to the ground. But almost immediately after, another bandit was set onto him, this one wielding a sword.

The two combatants exchanged blows for a short while, but it was clear that Chrom was the better swordsman. The blue haired warrior aimed a kick at his opponent's knee and after feeling a solid impact, he drove his sword home through the offending man's chest.

Frederick was fighting his own battles at the moment as well and was dispatching the bandits so efficiently, that his attackers seemed more reluctant to fight him as they saw their friends fall. It was this battle adrenaline that kept Frederick from seeing something else.

Chrom was fighting a mage who was shooting large plumes of fire at him, and the young warrior was ducking and dodging to only just avoid those deadly attacks. He couldn't keep this up forever, eventually, he would end up being caught in one those fire attacks until…

The mage suddenly yelled with shock and pain as something appeared to have struck him and Chrom, only just looking up in time, saw a bolt of thunder strike his foe directly where his heart was. Then as he turned around to see who his rescuer was, he saw…

"Robin!"

The white haired man rushed into the cobbled streets of Southtown just behind Chrom and after seeing that his spell had the desired effect he meant it to have, he held a hand out and asked worriedly, "Are you ok?"

Chrom, seeing the irony in this situation, (he remembered helping Robin to his feet just earlier that same day), took the hand and nodded. "I am thanks to you." He assumed a straight stance and said, "You followed us. Why? You could've gone anywhere after we left."

Truthfully, Robin shook his head. "I… I'm not certain myself. But I am armed, and I know my way around a fight, if you'll have me."

Chrom nodded gratefully. "Of course— strength in numbers! Just stay close!"

As Frederick finished cleaning up the last of the bandits he was fighting, he returned to Chrom and with some surprise saw Robin there as well. "Robin, why are you he-?"

"He saved my life, Frederick." Chrom said simply.

Frederick immediately looked shocked and after a moment, bowed deeply to Chrom and said in a tone that showed his utmost regret. "I am sorry, milord. I should have been the one to do that."

Chrom waved aside his apology. "Regardless, Robin will be joining us for the duration of this fight."

"Very good, milord." Frederick replied smoothly and to Robin, said, "I want to remind you, Robin. We are facing practiced thieves and murders. They will grant us no quarter. It's kill or be killed." And with that, the knight raised his lance and turned back to the burning town.

With that in mind, the three warriors advanced forward.

Robin cast a thunder spell at another swordsman trying to make his way through Chrom and the power of the magic blew the bandit off his feet and made him crash to the ground again. Chrom on the other hand, intercepted an axeman that was trying to make his way towards him.

They fought like this for several minutes, facing off against the bandits and covering each other's backs. For the most part, they were doing this well but they had still maintained some minor scratches and wounds.

"Is anyone hurt?" Chrom panted. "It would be foolish to leave a wound untreated."

Robin nodded. "Indeed. Timely use of a staff or a vulnerary should prevent the worst."

Just then, Lissa stepped up, and with a smile said, "Right! We'll see who's delicate! I may not be able to fight like how you, my brother and Frederick can! But when you get hurt in battle, it'll be me stitching you up!"

She raised her staff and the three men could feel their minor wounds being repaired. With that done, Robin looked towards the remaining bandits and seemed to see them with a new kind of clarity.

Chrom, seeing the expression on the other's face, asked, "Still with us, Robin?"

Robin nodded and said, "Hmm… It's strange. Here on the battlefield, I can… Well, I can "see" things."

Tilting his head slightly, Chrom asked, "See things? Like what?"

"The enemy's strength, their weaponry, the flow of battle… I must have studied this somewhere." Robin answered thoughtfully.

"In other words, you can size up the enemy at a glance?" Chrom asked.

Robin nodded once again. "Yes, it would seem so. And perhaps more, if I apply myself…"

And as they continued fighting, Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick discovered that Robin was quite the tactician and as they continued clearing the bandits out, they started deferring to his judgement on where each of them were needed more and more.

They finally reached the town square and after defeating Garrick's cronies, the man himself tossed aside his prisoner who whimpered slightly in fear as the huge man taunted them. "Look at the little lordling, come to the slaughter like all his other helpless sheep?"

Chrom, with a fire in his eyes, shouted back, "If anyone is going to be slaughtered today, it's going to be you!"

Garrick laughed evilly and raised his axe. "Show me what you got then, little lordling!"

Robin cast a thunder spell at the huge axe man, but was more than surprised to see that it had almost no impact or effect.

Garrick laughed. "Haha! Who does this fool think he is? If you're going to fight me too, you do it with a sword."

Robin looked at Chrom and the two nodded to each other. And with that, the former drew his sword and stood next to the latter. They would have gotten Frederick too and just attempt to subdue Garrick, but he was at another part in town dispatching other bandits while Lissa stayed with him to make sure the knight didn't get too badly wounded.

"You ready for this, Robin?" Chrom asked as he brandished his sword into his ready stance.

"Ready as I'll ever be." the white haired man replied, "Now let's take this murderer down!"

As if an invisible thread bound their hands together, Chrom and Robin both charged on Garrick with their weapons raised, poised to deliver lethal strikes but Garrick was an experienced fighter and easily parried their first strokes and retaliated in kind.

"He's strong!" Chrom shouted as he grunted against blocking the heavy head of the axe that Garrick preferred to use as a weapon.

However, Robin was looking at the bandit leader with keen eyes, analyzing everything he could about him. His physique, fighting style, weapon choice, and many other elements that he wouldn't have been able to describe to Chrom if he had asked.

After briefly sizing up the huge fighter, he said in a lowered voice to Chrom after the two momentarily backed off from their latest attack, "Chrom, he's bluffing. After my thunder spell hit him, it did do a number on him. He just goaded me into attacking with my sword because he's afraid I might try again with the spell."

"Are you sure?" Chrom asked with a light in his eyes as Garrick began to advance on them. "After all, I still don't want to be caught fighting this guy alone!"

With a quick grin, Robin reached into his coat, pulled out his thunder tome, and said, "You won't be. Now get in there!" And he gave the young swordsman a shove.

Chrom, not expecting this, quickly found himself face to face with the now exceptionally angry Garrick and the bandit leader let out a snarl as he brought his huge axe down in a blow that surely would have taken Chrom's head off had he not dodged out of it's path.

Chrom, knowing a moment when he saw one, quickly swiped sideways with his sword landing a good clean slash on his opponent while he was still recovering from his massive attack.

Garrick grunted with pain, but then the sound turned into an almost feral growl as seeing the sword wound apparently seemed to anger him. He was so angry in fact, that he didn't even notice that the white haired man had disappeared from his companion's side… At least until he felt the shock of a thunder spell suddenly hit him from a new direction.

"Wh-what?" Garrick wheezed as he was hit by the unexpected impact. And after whirling his hand around, he saw the white haired man, hands glowing as he prepared to cast another spell. He tried to force an arrogant laugh, but too late, the blue haired swordsman was on him instantly.

"We got him, Chrom!" Robin shouted triumphantly as he cast another thunder spell that Garrick only barely managed to dodge. "Now let's finish this together!"

"Right!" His companion shouted and with a shout of strength, he swung Falchion hard at Garrick, enough to knock the axe out of the hands of the tired bandit. And as the other man now saw that he was unarmed and defenseless, there was fear in his eyes as the final of Robin's spells hit him, immediately followed up by a stab through the chest by Chrom.

He had a momentary look of shock on his face, almost as if he was surprised that this was the way his life was to end, then the look went blank, his eyes glazed over and he collapsed to the ground in a crumpled heap.

Chrom swept his sword through the air with a "whoosh" as the blade seemed to slice the air itself, before spinning it in his hand and sheathing it. Robin simply closed his tome, and put it back inside his coat.

"Well, that's the end of that." Robin said and he gave a quick wave as he saw Frederick and Lissa rushing over them from the opposite part of the town square. However, he saw the still bodies of the villagers that Garrick and his men had murdered and silently mourned their deaths. Chrom saw this and put an arm on his shoulder.

"We did our best, Robin." He said gently.

"I know but…" Robin began, then shook his head. Those kind of thoughts would only make him feel more guilty than he already did and he knew that he had done all he could to ensure the safety of these people, all he could do now was to make sure he'd do better in the future.

After Frederick reported to Chrom that he had dispatched all the bandits in his sector and the town was secure, Lissa said with her usual cheery grin, "Lucky for the town we were close by."

Then looking at Robin, she threw up her arms and called, "But holy wow, Robin! You were incredible!" She began to count off a list from her fingers, "Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?"

Chrom pat Lissa on the head and looked to Robin while saying, "You're certainly no helpless victim, that much is for sure."

"Indeed." Frederick now chimed in. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?"

Robin shook his head sheepishly at the knight. "I understand your skepticism, Sir Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me." Now holding out his hands in a grave gesture, he added, "But please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."

Chrom put a restraining hand on his retainer and after a brief shake of his head, turned to Robin and said, "You fought to save Ylissean livs. My heart says that's enough."

Despite the hand, Frederick would not be stopped as far as voicing his thoughts and warnings. "And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?"

"Frederick," Chrom began, "the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents." Gesturing to the bodies of the bandits that they had just dispatched, he continued. "We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have lose such an able tactician?" Turning to the white haired man once again, he added, "Besides, I believe his story, odd as it might be."

More than a little shocked that Chrom had spoken against his retainer and had just thrown in his lot with him, he stammered, "Th-thank you, Chrom."

"So how about it? Will you join us, Robin?" Chrom asked.

Robin, could feel a little smile forcing it's way onto his face as he answered, "I would be honored."

After a brief amount of time had passed in which the group began to help the villagers with putting out the fires and taking care of the dead bodies, Frederick returned straight to business as he talked to Chrom.

"Did you notice, milord? The brigands spoke with a Plegian accent."

Robin, who happened on the conversation asked, "Plegian? What's that?"

"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor." Chrom answered for Frederick. "They send small bands into our territory, hoping to instigate a war."

Lissa, suddenly got fired up and she interrupted with, "And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer! Totally innocent, and totally helpless…"

Frederick said reassuringly, "They do have us, milady: Shepherds to protect the sheep. DO not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgement."

"I know, I know…" Lissa replied to the burly knight. Then, appearing much more chipper, she said, "Don't worry. I'll get used to all this."

Just then, one of the villagers, an older man, approached the group and said, "Milord, please! You must stay the night!" Gesturing to what must obviously be the town's inn and tavern, he continued. "We are simple folk of simple means, but we would gladly toast your valor with a feast!"

Frederick smiled kindly at the man and said, "A most generous offer, sir. And no doubt your hospitality would be grand…" The knight's expression sobered slightly at his next words. "But I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol."

Lissa, who seemed to not have heard a word that Frederick had said, said, "Dark meat only for me, medium well, and no salt in the soup, I simply—" Then the young girl realized what the burly man had said and her expression immediately turned from cheerful to shocked, if not slightly saddened. "Wait, what?! We're not staying?!" The next part she said with a pouty face, "But, Frederick, it's nearly dark!"

Frederick pushed Lissa's concerns however (or at least he thought he did) by replying, "When night falls, we'll camp. Eat off the land, make our bed of twigs and the like…" Now with somewhat of a smirk, he added slyly, "I believe you mentioned you would be, 'getting used to this'?"

Lissa, now looking totally miserable, said, "Frederick? Sometimes I hate you."

"You've quite the stern lieutenant there." Robin said in almost an awestruck voice.

"Yeah, well, 'stern' is one name for it. I can think of a few others!" And she glared daggers at Frederick.

"Frederick only smiles when he's about to bring down the axe." Chrom added in helpfully.

"Duly noted." Robin said quickly and filed that little bit of information away, making sure to also note to himself, never to cross the huge knight.

Frederick cleared his throat, slightly grumpily and said, "You do realize I AM still present?"

"Oh, we realize." Chrom said with a grin.

The sally between the lord and his retainer was enough to make Robin chuckle slightly as Frederick gave them both a look and returned to the original topic at hand.

"Milord remains as amusing as ever. Now then, shall we be going?"

Deciding to give the older man a break, Chrom said, "All right, all right." Then to Robin, said, "Ready to go, Robin? The capital isn't far."

"Ready as I'll ever be, Chrom." The new tactician of the Shepherds said. And with that, after saying their goodbyes to the people of the town and offering apologies that they couldn't help further in the restoration and cleanup, they exited the borders, and continued on their way.


	4. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change

**Hello all you beautiful people! As of now, The Awakening has received almost 200 views overall! And I am extremely grateful that for the moment, you all seem to be enjoying this story! But as always, here's some house cleaning!**

 **1\. I've received some reviews over the past couple ideas giving me some very good ideas on where I can go with my stories, and some other reviews that are jumping the gun slightly on some things!**

 **a. I do not mind suggestions, no author should! A reviewer only leaves feedback for changes they can see will improve a story! But we still have quite a ways to go my friends! For example, one reviewer told me to consider a Fates sequel. Whoa, whoa, whoa! Slow down there buddy! I appreciate that you would like the idea of a Fates sequel, but let's get through this project first, yeah? Yeah c:**

 **b. For the moment, I have a relatively clear idea on where I want to take this story and how I want to go about writing it. While of course, I will always value suggestions (one reviewer even left me some pretty neat ideas on how I can expound on war attrocities committed by both sides during the wars of Awakening!), for the moment, reviews I am looking for revolve mainly around writing style. How it flows, the enjoyability of reading, how realistic and close to the game my portrayal of the characters are, etc. By all means, keep leaving suggestions, but if I don't get feedback on if you think my actual writing is good or bad, then I don't know what to, or even if I need to improve anything out there for my lovely readers! So please, feedback of any kind is appreciated!**

 **2\. I have decided to implement short story elements if I deem it necessary. For example... Ahh you'll see later on in this chapter what I'm talking about, but I have made the decision to implement some support conversations in the chapters themselves before the "battles" at intervals at where I think they'd work best. Please let me know what you think of this!**

 **3\. Chapters will most likely be split into multiple parts. For example, this is the first part of Unwelcome Change, and my next uploaded chapter will be Unwelcome Change (Cont) as I want to keep everything neat so you're not jammed with so much in one chapter, so at my discretion is how chapters shall be split.**

 **Gosh! With all that prefacing done, you might think we won't ever get to the actual meat but no worries, that is all I have to say! Now, please enjoy this next chapter in The Awakening!**

 **Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change**

 **West of Ylisstol: Ylisse**

They didn't have much time left in the day to get any significant distance done to get back to Ylisse's capital. However, the group of four still did get a fair enough distance in the few hours of sunlight that they did have left in the day.

With that in mind, and judging by how fast the light from the weak evening sun was quickly disappearing, the group of four stopped and Lissa decided to bring up a point she had only made hours ago.

"I told you—" The young blonde girl pouted, "it's getting dark already!" There were then several buzzing sounds as the insects of the night began to make their appearance known and Lissa began to swat at the air as she said, "... Ech! And now the bugs are out! Noisy, disgusting bugs that buzz around and crawl all over and bite you when—"

Suddenly, her tirade was cut short and was instead replaced by several spitting sounds as she coughed excessively, "Agh! Won goph in mah mouph! Blech! Ptoeey!"

Chrom laughed slightly at this display and putting a hand on his sister's shoulder, he said, "Aw, come on now, Lissa. Hardship builds character. Want to help me gather some firewood?"

Lissa, apparently hadn't heard a word her brother had said because she was still spitting while he had been talking. "Tpht! Tpht! Yeeeeeuck!... I think I swallowed it…" Then in a statement that showed that she HAD indeed been paying attention to Chrom, said to him, "I'll pass on finding firewood, thanks" She threw her hands up in the air in frustration and said loudly, "I think I've built QUITE enough character for one day!"

Robin broke the course of this conversation by saying mildly, "We should probably think about food. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving" To accentuate this statement, Robin's stomach let out a mighty grumble.

Frederick, simply nodded and said, "Yes, I should think a little hunting and gathering is in order." Looking to the rest of the group, he asked, "Now, who wants to clear a campsite? We might as well bed down for the night if we're not going to be making anymore progress for today."

"I can do that." Robin said immediately, but Chrom was shaking his head.

"No, Robin. I'd like you to come with me. I'm going to go hunting for some meat and I'd prefer it if I had someone else out there watching my back so nothing unpleasant sneaks up on me."

Frederick immediately objected. "Milord, I must insist—"

But Chrom had already seen the interjection coming and held up a hand to stop his retainer. "I understand where you're coming from Frederick, I really do. But I think it's time that we put some trust in Robin." Then he turned to Lissa and the potential ground for their campsite and further added, "Besides, even if I did have you come with me instead of Robin, wouldn't you be worried about Lissa?"

Frederick saw the logic in this and said hesitantly, "Well milord, Lissa could go with you as well."

"Uhh, I am still here you know!" Lissa said pointedly, but having a grin on her face all the same to see the usual conversation of Chrom's safety from the overprotective Frederick

"Fair point, Frederick." Chrom had said, "But if something really nasty is out there, small a chance as it may be, I'd rather not my little sister be in harm's way."

Sighing, the older knight conceded the point. "I suppose you're right milord." Then, looking at Robin, said more reasonably, "Robin, you fought with us and protected us and many innocent Ylissean lives. I'm putting my trust in you. Please do not abuse it."

Robin, recognizing what Frederick had done, appreciated the gesture and nodded respectfully towards the bigger man. "I promise you, Sir. No harm shall befall Chrom."

"Make sure it doesn't." Replied the other man very seriously.

"Come on, Frederick!" Chrom said with an admonishing smile. "Give Robin a break, he definitely deserves more than that at this point!" Then to the white haired tactician, grinned and added, "Now let's go find dinner!"

"Gladly." Robin replied with much enthusiasm.

With that goal in mind, the duo marched off into the surrounding forest as Frederick and Lissa began to clear a space in the ground to make their campsite.

As the two ventured deeper into the forests, they had removed some of their more elaborate outerwear. For example, Chrom had removed his white cape from his armor and pauldron (which despite the warrior's best efforts would always manage to attract some form of dirt or other mess on it). Robin on the other hand had removed his rather elaborate coat.

As the two were going hunting, they figured that it would only be natural that they be able to have freedom of movement and have less problems of something getting snagged on a tree or another small issue which could cause them ruin.

Both men had their weapons close to hand and ready, neither of them were archers, but Robin had discovered that Chrom had an incredible speed to his reflexes and actions. He had seen this first in the battle in Southtown and saw that, despite his youth, Chrom would be well on his way to become a master swordsman of the highest caliber. However, speed wasn't his only strength, as he had plenty of that too.

Looking to the tome he held, which was still the basic thunder spell, he decided that even though he held both a sword and tome, he figured somehow that he would be better at casting spells rather than involving himself with swords. _I should take lessons from Chrom or Frederick however._ Robin thought to himself. _Never hurts to have more skills and talents which could save your life later._

They were in a hunting atmosphere granted, where they needed their wits about them in case they heard some miniscule sound (dinner was on the line after all!), but Robin couldn't help but notice that this was the first time that he found himself along in the presence of Chrom and he started wondering about something as he now reminded himself, they'd only barely met that same day.

Shrugging, Robin decided that there was nothing wrong for talking to the man he'd obviously be working more with, and with that, he opened the door. "Can I ask you something, Chrom?"

Chrom turned to face Robin and with an expression, half joking half serious, replied, "Uh-oh. Should I be nervous?"

Robin shook his head to push any doubts away and said, "When you found me collapsed and without memory, why did you take me in?"

Chrom raised an eyebrow at this and answered the question with a tone of voice that sounded as if the reason was more than obvious. "Well… Because you were collapsed and without memory?"

"That's it?" Robin asked. "Pity was your reason?"

Shrugging, Chrom said, "Isn't that enough?"

"Did you never stop to consider if it was some kind of trap?" Robin asked doggedly.

"Heh," Chrom guffawed slightly, "that's what I have Frederick for."

However, Robin wanted more and he started saying, "But why didn't—"

Chrom stopped walking and after a second, Robin noticed and turned around to face him. Now with a very serious expression, the blue haired swordsman said, "Robin, if I see someone hurt or in need, I'm going to help them. That's just who I am, and there's no changing it." Gesturing to the ground, he added, "Or would you rather I'd left you there, face down in the muck?"

Robin shook his head, denying the claim and said, "No, of course not. I'm thankful for what you did, I truly am. But it scares me all the same." Tapping a hand on his forehead as if to find the words he needed, he apparently did and said, "Chivalry and longevity don't often go hand in hand."

"Ha!" Chrom barked with laughter, "I wish I had a gold coin for every time I got this lecture!"

Robin shrugged. "I can only offer advice, I'm afraid. You really should be more careful in the future."

Chrom was already shaking his head before the white haired man finished his sentence. "I'm sorry, but no. If it happened again today, I'd do the same exact thing…"

"But—" Robin tried to say.

Chrom however, was now holding up his own hand. "Peace, Robin. I have heard your counsel, and I know you mean well. But as I said, this is who I am. I can't change that, nor would I want to."

Robin nodded, somewhat reluctantly admittedly, but he did all the same. "I… I understand. If that is your decision, then so be it." As Chrom started walking again, he said after him, "Just do try and be careful, Chrom. For my peace of mind at least, if not your own?"

Chrom turned back to him and said, "I will. I promise."

Robin smiled at this. "Good, then that's all I could ask for."

As Chrom returned this smile, the duo felt like they now understood each other a little better and shared a moment of camaraderie. That was at least, until there was a loud snapping of branches from somewhere in the trees.

Both men were immediately put on alert at the sound and Chrom drew his sword as Robin whipped out his tome.

"Whatever made that sound," Chrom said quietly, yet intensely, "it's big."

Robin nodded in agreement, "I think I would say the same as well."

Their eyes scanned the dark trees and Robin was processing this information. "The sound we heard…" He began, "They were branches snapping… Not sticks on the ground… Most of the branches to get snapped on are about our head heights if not slightly higher, so that can only mean that a—"

Robin was cut off by an almighty roar as a bear shambled into view of the two armed men. As soon as it saw them, it got on its hind legs, roared even more loudly, and bared its rather large teeth at them.

"BEAR!" Chrom and Robin both shouted as the huge animal dropped its paws onto the ground and began running at them.

It scattered them with its first charge and it blundered on by as Chrom and Robin hurriedly got back to their feet.

"Thunder!" Robin shouted as he cast the spell and felt the concentrated energy leading his hand.

It hit the bear's backside and made it jolt forward slightly, but other than that, appeared to not have much impact. It instead turned back to him, roared once again, and now started charging him."

"Robin!" Chrom shouted as he ran to his friends aid. With a shout, he aimed a slash at the bear's side and opened a cut there, but the fur was too thick for the strike to be effective. It was however, very effective in distracting the attention of the bear off of Robin. And now onto him.

"How do we kill it?!" Robin shouted to Chrom as he decided drawing his sword should probably be something that he do about now, in addition to wielding his tome.

"I don't know!" Chrom shouted back as he parried a bear paw by striking at it viciously with his sword. The bear was absolutely enraged now and continued advancing on the warrior. "I've never hunted a bear before! All I know is, we aren't equipped for this!"

"We have swords!" Robin shouted as he cast a thunder spell to try to divert some of the huge creature's attention, "Isn't that enough?"

"Most hunting parties use long spears or pikes!" Chrom shouted back as he swung another slash at the bear. "Keeps the bear at bay!"

"Well, we don't have that!" Robin shouted in frustration.

"Robin, look out!" Chrom shouted and the tactician barely managed to avoid the huge paw that swung past his head with a deadly "whoosh!" of air.

He had sidestepped the attack, almost tripped on a rock, quickly regained his balance and ran by the bear to stand side to side with Chrom. "We have no choice!" He shouted, let's throw everything we have at it!" And more thunder began forming in Robin's hands as Chrom continued to slash at the bear, finding openings in its attack patterns, but they were doing little damage, even fighting together.

Then, the bear, apparently deciding it had had enough, swung its paw and knocked the two men back several feet into the air, before landing back to the ground in an explosive "whoof!" of breath.

"This isn't working!" Chrom panted as he leaned his weight on his sword. "We need to go back and get Frederick, he has a lance!"

"And what, are we supposed to outrun the bear?!" Robin shouted back. "We'll be eaten long before we make it back to Frederick!"

Frustratedly, Chrom gestured to the bear who was approaching them again, "Hey, I had an idea! YOU come up with something, consider this your first test as the tactician of the Shepherds! If you fail, WE BOTH DIE!"

"I GOT IT, I GOT IT!" Robin shouted angrily, "Just give me a moment to thin—" His head suddenly was filled with an image. What seemed like…. Was it a memory? No it couldn't have been.

"Robin now!" Chrom shouted at him and he saw himself in this vision shooting some sort of lightning into the blade of Chrom's sword as he heard himself shout encouragement at the other man."

Shaking his head, he had no idea what happened. But now he had an idea.

"Chrom!" Robin shouted as he cast another thunder spell at the bear. "Do you trust me?"

Chrom laughed in a somewhat nervous, but yet also derisive way, "You're asking me that now?! When we're about to be eaten by a bear?!"

"Do you trust me?!" Robin asked again, more loudly this time as he dragged Chrom to him by the arm.

Chrom looked into his eyes, deep dark brown eyes. In that moment, he decided, he did trust Robin. "I do." he said.

"Good," Robin said and he released Chrom as the bear prepared for its final assault on the duo. He began casting a thunder spell in his hand, but instead of letting it go at its usual increment, he continued building it up.

"Uhh, Robin?" Chrom asked anxiously as the bear was getting closer. "Mind telling me the plan?"

"I'm going to shoot a concentrated bolt of energy into your sword!" Robin called. "After that, stab that pointy stick into the bear as far as it can go!"

"ARE YOU INSANE?!" Chrom shouted. "NOT ONLY ARE YOU GOING TO FRY ME, BUT IF FOR SOME REASON, NAGA DEEMS ME TO LIVE, THE BEAR WILL BITE MY HEAD OFF!"

"Trust me, Chrom!" Robin shouted back more loudly as the bear got even closer. "Get ready! I don't know how much longer I can hold this!"

"Oh for the love of all the gods…" Chrom said in frustration. Gritting his teeth, he held his sword out, planted his feet in the ground, and prepared to charge. "I might actually be insane…"

"And…" Robin said over the noise of his charging magic as the bear was now only feet away from them, "NOW!" And with an almighty boom, the concentrated energy shot out of Robin's hand into the blade of Chrom's sword as he began to charge forward at the bear.

Chrom was letting out a battle cry almost as loud as the bear and as he thought about this insane situation, and how he had AGREED to put himself in this dangerous situation, the adrenaline began dumping into his bloodstream and he resolved himself, that he would not die here. He would not be defeated by some mere bear of the forest and he shouted out loud (as if the bear were some evil bandit), "YOUR END HAS COME!"

They were only inches away from each other, and Chrom, still continuing that earth shattering battle cry, used all the muscles in his shoulder, back and arm to plunge the sword in the center of the bear's huge mass. There was an almighty glow as the sword made contact and a loud, but yet also oddly satisfying, slashing sound as the sword continued going deeper and deeper until it reached the hilt of the weapon.

Chrom's eyes were jammed shut and he was still yelling as he felt the sword going in and half expected to feel the bear's jaws snapping in on his head any moment now, but as he stopped yelling and opened his eyes, he realized that the bear had been killed as soon as his sword, imbued with Robin's magic, had touched it. There was a huge thud as the bear's enormous weight made it hit the ground to shake it a little, and Chrom fell, his buckling legs being unable to support his weight.

Robin, was white as if death himself had just come for him and he now ran next to his friend, voice shaking almost as bad as Chrom's legs and asked (or more accurately shouted), "Oh my gods! Are you alright?! I thought you were a goner!"

"Oh!" Chrom said in a voice heavily laden with sarcasm, "The madman with the plan thought that I wasn't to have any chance of surviving this! That I wouldn't have been able to kill this little bear!"

Robin shook his head in disbelief. In that moment before sword and Chrom had made contact with the bear, it had been nerve wracking, he had only just promised to Frederick mere hours ago that he would keep Chrom safe and he threw him in the middle of a rampaging bear's path. But, he returned the sarcasm with some of his own, "Really, 'little bear'? Those legs of yours are still shaking, quite a reaction for only fighting a 'little bear'!"

"I'll have you know, that I—" Chrom began, but then stopped, looked at himself, then the sword stuck in the bear. He stood up, tested his weight, removed the sword, cleaned the blood off it, and sheathed it. Then he turned to Robin and said grudgingly, "Thank you."

Robin was more than shocked. " 'Thank you' for… what? You called me a madman earlier, where's this coming from?"

"If we followed my plan, we would undoubtedly be dead. And in the stomachs of that bear over there" Chrom said as he gestured to the dead beast. "With your plan, at least we could stand a fighting chance. Plus, you did save my life… In some weird convoluted way, but you did."

A smile began to come to Robin's face and he tried to say, "Chrom, I—"

"BUT YOU PUT ME IN THE PATH OF A RAMPAGING BEAR DAMMIT!" Chrom shouted angrily. "AND THE ONLY THING YOU HAD TO GIVE ME FOR COMFORT, WAS SOME QUESTION OF IF I TRUSTED YOU, WHAT KIND OF QUESTION IS THAT IN A LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION?!" And he began to wave his arms wildly, as if this, somehow made it more clear of how angry he was

"Calm down, Chrom!" Robin began as he tried to hold down the warrior's flailing arms. "Chrom. Chrom! CHROM!" Robin shouted in louder and louder increments as he tried to get his friend under control. "Listen to me!"

"WHAT?!" Chrom shouted, his face actually red now. "WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY HAVE TO SAY NOW?!"

"We have a problem solved!" Robin shouted back, albeit more quietly.

"Oh yeah, what problem is that?" Chrom asked, his anger rapidly dispelling.

"Our problem of hunting." Robin said and he pointed to the massive bear carcass.

"... You mean, you think we should eat the bear?" Chrom asked in what Robin interpreted as a very dangerous tone.

"Ye—" Robin swallowed, cleared his throat and said, "Yes?"

Silence.

Then, Chrom dropped a hand on Robin's shoulder, started laughing heartily, and said, "Oh, Robin my friend. I think you and I are going to get along just fine."


	5. Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change (cont)

**Alright my friends! I'm sorry for the slightly longer wait for this one, I will try to keep these coming at least weekly if not on a more consistent basis! It took me a pretty moment to write this one but I hope you'll enjoy! As always, feedback and criticism is always appreciated! And now, let's jump into the next part in The Awakening!**

 **Chapter 1: Unwelcome Change (cont)**

 **West of Ylisstol: Ylisse**

There had been some misgivings at the campsite when Chrom and Robin returned with a massive bundle of bear meat that they had field dressed as soon as they had taken down the massive beast. Naturally, they had of course greatly exaggerated their own bravery and combat prowess when it came to describing the hunt itself.

For example, instead of reality where the bear had been stalking them and they had been the hunted, Chrom elaborately described how they had been following the bear for miles and eventually led it to the perfect ambush spot to kill it.

They had also, universally agreed that the real story on how they had taken it down would never be told.

"Well for one," Chrom had said at the time when they were walking back to the campsite with Robin, "We need to show off our mighty prowess in battle by telling everyone the story of the great hunt! Where two men valiantly stood alone against a bear and despite overwhelming odds, were able to slay the mighty beast!"

"Uh huh." Robin had said skeptically. "No other reasons other than to give the bards something to sing about?"

Then, Chrom had said rather truthfully, "Well no. It's to stop Frederick from sticking his lance into you if he learned about how you were the one who put me in the bear's path."

To which Robin, remembering what Chrom had said earlier about Frederick only smiling when he was, 'about to bring down the axe', had to agree rather hastily.

Frederick and Lissa both looked at the bear meat with slight distaste on the eyes of the former, and an all out protest from the latter. Chrom and Robin however, had immediately set themselves onto what they saw as a treasured feast and both friends were able to sate their massive appetites.

It had been quite a pleasant surprise for Robin when he discovered that when the trio of Chrom, Frederick and Lissa went out into the Ylissean countryside like this, they usually brought with them many different stores of cooking spices which definitely could provide some needed differentiation in their daily diets when on the road. Robin and Chrom had put the bear meat they had been able to obtain over a spit that they had built over the campfire that Frederick and Lissa had made while they had been "hunting".

With a sigh of satisfaction, the blue haired warrior said, "Mmm… It's been too long since I last had bear meat. It's just as delicious as I remember!" Glancing at his little sister and how she hadn't touched her portion of the "food", he asked, "What's wrong, Lissa? Dig in!"

Lissa shook her head and with disgruntled expression said, "Pass!... Gods, couldn't you spear us an animal normal people eat for once? I mean, come on! Who eats bear?! You're meddling with the food chain."

Chrom, remembering the near deadly encounter they had with the very bear they were now eating, thought back to those very large teeth that he had thought for sure would have closed on his head or any other part of his body and found it very ironic that it was now they who were eating it instead of the other way around. He looked up though as Lissa continued speaking, obviously trying to find support from someone else in their group.

"Isn't that right, Robin?" She asked beadily to the tactician. Then as no response came, she said hesitantly, "Uh, Robin?"

When she finally looked in his direction to see why no reply had been forthcoming, she saw the white haired man making some rather unpleasant noises as he continued indulging in the meat.

She sighed defeatedly and said, "I suppose a person would enjoy just about anything after not eating for days…"

"Just eat it, Lissa." Chrom said with a smile, "Meat is meat."

"Since when does meat smell like old boots?!" Lissa exclaimed. "Wait, I take that back—boots smell better!"

Frederick (who hadn't touched his bear meat either) said "wisely", "Every experience makes us stronger, milady. Even those we don't enjoy."

"Really?" Lissa said skeptically. "Then why don't I see YOU eating, Frederick?"

Frederick froze for a moment, then with a smile that was filled with bravado, replied, "Me? Oh, well… I'm not hungry. I… I had a large lunch! Yes, quite."

Lissa made a "pft!" sound and said, "Yeah right, Frederick!"

The big knight chose to laugh (rather nervously it must be said) instead of responding to Lissa.

Robin wiped his mouth with a convenient cloth, shortly realized that the convenient cloth had actually been a section of his coat, shrugged and said, "It must be getting late, we should probably get some sleep if we want to make it to the capital to the schedule that Frederick set us on."

Relieved that the topic of conversation had steered away from the bear meat, Frederick seized it gratefully and instantly added, "Yes! I quite agree, it's about the time that we get some rest anyway!"

Lissa gave Frederick a look then rolled her eyes and then pulled up her sleeping mat as the other three began to do the same.

Robin looked at Chrom and asked, "Want me to take the first watch?"

Shaking his head, the warrior replied, "Don't worry, I'll take it."

Shrugging, Robin said, "Good, I was hoping you'd volunteer for me, I could sleep like a bear right now."

Chrom smiled as Robin winked at him, an expression where the meaning was secured between them and would be an inside joke for the two friends. "Yeah, yeah." He replied as he pulled himself up straight as his companions were doing the opposite and making themselves comfortable. To Robin, he added, "I'll wake you up in about three hours time."

A grunt came back in response and Chrom interpreted this reply in the positive. The night was clear, free of clouds so he doubted that there would be any rain and the air, while warm, had a pleasant breeze rolling through. It was a beautiful night as the familiar stars and constellations twinkled down at him.

Soon the sounds of the other three began to die down as they fell (or were in the process of) falling asleep. About two hours had passed and Chrom, despite him being excellently disciplined, began to feel drowsiness take over him, until that sixth sense that only the most skilled of warriors seem to possess, began to tap him very gently. He ignored it at first, then as minute faded into another minute, that tapping began to turn into a firm prodding and he shook himself out of his drowsiness and looked around cautiously.

"... Huh?" He murmured out loud to himself. "What is this feeling?..." He stood up, his sword and armor making some slight noise as he did so and in the process of doing this, Lissa stirred next to him.

She yawned hugely and after sitting up in her bedroll, looked up at Chrom and asked, "What's wrong, Big Brother?"

Lissa began to stand but Chrom said in apology, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, but… Something is amiss…"

The blonde girl stretched hugely and said, "Define, 'something'."

Chrom, who didn't even know what it was himself, said, "I'm not sure… I think I'll have a look around."

Instantly, Lissa interjected, "Not alone, you won't! I'm coming too."

Chrom put a hand on his sister's head and patted it a couple times as he said, "Heh. Thanks, Lissa."

The duo began to set off into the forest where he and Robin had only been hours ago but they continued to walk past the point where they had encountered the bear and after walking for a short while and following the path, they reached a clearing where the trees began to thin out. Something had made them stop. But as Lissa and Chrom were walking down the path further, some innate instinct had halted their progress as they looked around.

Lissa, in almost a whisper, said, "It sure is dark… And quiet. Where did the birds go?"

Chrom, whose warrior instincts were on full alarm mode were screaming at him now and he put a hand on his sword as he said, "Something is wrong here…"

Right as he said this, the earth began to shake violently and the two almost lost their feet as they fought to keep their balance.

"Aaah!" Lissa exclaimed loudly, "Chrom!"

"Gods! What— Agh! What is this madness?!" He put an arm around his sister and said, "Lissa, stay close!"

The ground continued to shake and Chrom could see the trees in the distance began to topple over. Looking at this, he said, "Lissa, run."

She looked up at him and was about to say something but her brother quickly cut her off.

"I mean it, go!" And Chrom pushed her slightly in the opposite direction from where the trees seemed to be disappearing into the earth itself. He glanced back and began to run himself just as the ground began to split behind him and huge streams of lava began billowing out and sending deadly streams of it flying through the air.

He caught up with his sister and after running in front of her slightly, said, "Hey! This way!" And began to lead her in a new direction which would take them out of the line of fire. They jumped to lower ground and continued to run as fires began to start and the whole forest began to glow with an ominous red, orange and yellow color.

The duo reached another clearing where they were no longer at risk from the deadly streams of lava but as Lissa bent over, panting to catch her breath. She heard a noise, and looked up. Her eyes widened as she pointed and exclaimed, "Chrom, what is that?"

Chrom turned to look at it too and in the middle of the glowing night sky, he could see thousands of tiny light particles gathering to one spot. It seemed to disappear for a moment, but then came back almost immediately as a rather elaborate circle in the sky with a glowing white center in the middle that opened almost as if it was an eye. Once this circle had opened fully, Chrom could see a bright blue center as if it was the iris.

Then the noise that followed was something that chilled Chrom to the bone as two… things fell out of the circle making those wretched sounds. Their bodies came out about halfway through, before they simply lumped over and fell the rest of the distance back to the ground. For a moment, there was silence once again.

The two figures that had fallen were now slowly rising to their feet once more and Chrom could see weapons in their rotted hands as they continued making that horrible sounding groans. Then as they were both fully standing and their heads turned to face his, their eyes ignited and glowed a bright blood red.

Robin, who had been fast asleep, awoke as the ground beneath him began to shake with a force that he had never felt before. As his eyes flew open, Frederick (who was almost next to him did the same thing as well.

"What on earth?!" Robin exclaimed as he tried to gain his balance after being awakened in such a raucous manner.

Frederick was a little better at this than Robin and as he quickly got up, he saw that Chrom and Lissa were both absent from the campsite. His eyes immediately narrowed towards the white haired tactician who was still trying to find his way up.

Robin felt a fist close around his shirt collar and felt himself being hauled up and lifted into the air as Frederick had immediately associated the disappearance of his lord and lady with the newcomer they had so foolishly let into the group.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM?!" Frederick roared as he lifted Robin yet higher into the air while somehow still maintaining a grip like iron.

Robin, who still was waking up, hadn't the slightest clue what the knight was talking about. "F-Frederick—" Robin choked as he gasped for breath. "P—Put me down, I c—can't breath."

Frederick however ignored this and demanded once again, "MILORD AND MILADY ARE GONE, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Robin, looked to where the two had previously been during the night and saw the spots they had occupied were now empty and his eyes widened. He quickly tried to pat Frederick's arm in desperate motions as if that would help loosen the grip, but this obviously didn't help and Robin croaked out, "I— I have no i—idea! I di—didn't do anything! I swe—swear!"

Disgusted, Frederick released his grip and let Robin crumple back to the ground as the latter desperately pulled air into his depleted lungs.

"You better convince me in about one minute right now." Frederick said dangerously and Robin saw, with a lurch of fear, that the knight was holding a rather large axe in his hand.

Robin immediately scrambled up to his feet, despite the ground still shaking and held his hands out for peace (which the other man was completely ignoring). "Frederick, listen to me!" He said. "You saw me, I was out like the dead!"

The axe head seemed to be shining even more brightly in the warm glows of the fires being started in the forest. "That's your reason?" He growled dangerously.

Robin nodded. "Yes! How could I be expected to wake up, drag Chrom and Lissa somewhere, come back to the campsite and pretend to be asleep again?" He added another point, "And Chrom was on watch too! You don't think he'd make some noise or try to get your attention if I was trying to pull him away somewhere or threatening his life?"

Frederick's anger suddenly lessened considerably at this and he realized that he had made an error. He dropped the axe in horror, realizing that he had been about to split Robin from head to waist without paying attention to his own brain and logic. Of course if Robin really had tried to make away with Lissa, Chrom would have noticed him. And if Robin had attempted some attempt on Chrom's life, the sounds of them fighting would have definitely been noticed.

"Robin, I—" Frederick began but he was interrupted.

"That's fine! You were only doing your duty, and I'm still basically a stranger!" The tactician shouted as he began to throw his coat on and straighten his shirt. "But right now, we need to find those two! That forest looks like the danger spot right now and something tells me, that's exactly where they are!" He clipped his sword at his belt, checked that the thunder tome was still inside his coat, and fastened his boots.

Frederick shook himself, nodded firmly and said, "Right. Milord and milady are still out there and it's up to us to save them." He mounted his horse, gave a hand to Robin so he could mount up as well, and they began to enter the flaming forest.

Chrom drew his sword as the creatures began to slowly advance towards him. "Lissa," he began, "you better stand back."

His sister nodded quickly and got behind the protection of Chrom and his sword.

The creatures began walking towards them now, but then they stopped, the one of them let out its terrible groan, and black smoke seemed to leak out of its mouth before it suddenly began charging at them with incredible speed. It jumped into the air, ready to deliver a deadly strike with its axe.

Chrom had initially been surprised by this sudden burst of speed, but after he focused himself, he realized that this thing had left itself wide open and as it came back to the ground, he easily sidestepped the axe and slashed once through the center of the creature.

He had expected it to fall over, stone dead, but after not hearing the thud of body hitting ground, realized something was wrong. He quickly turned around to see the creature's head do a turn and saw those glowing red eyes staring right back at him, before without a moment's notice, swung its axe back around which Chrom hurriedly blocked.

The sounds of metal scraping on metal as the two struggled in the lock were loud and finally, Chrom broke it by raising his arm to throw the creature off balance. He then rammed into it using his shoulder and it fell over shambling to the ground, losing hold of its weapon. Chrom spun his sword, jumped into the air, and then plunged the sword into the creature's back. It let out a surprised groan, then disintegrated into purple smoke beneath his sword.

Chrom was still in this position panting and he said out loud, "By the gods, what in Naga's name was that?" Then his attention snapped back to present moment as he heard a scream and realized that he had left his sister and that there was still one more of those things around. He turned to see it advancing on her while she tried to fend it off with her staff.

He began running back to her aid but then saw the creature raise its axe, he began to run faster. Then, from that same blue circle in the sky, he saw something else coming out of it. Not one of those dead looking monstrosities, but a person. Dark blue hair and an outfit that reminded Chrom of the hero king, Marth were evident. Most of all however, was the mask that this new person was wearing. It obscured most of his face and was shaped like a butterfly's wings.

This new figure jumped out of the circle and began running to Lissa and the creature, and just as the horrible thing was about to bring its weapon down on her, there was an almighty clash and the person, whoever he was had intercepted the strike by drawing his sword and then using the strength of his back to block the terrible axe.

Chrom momentarily stood in shock at the speed and reflexes that this mysterious warrior had and Lissa, expecting death, looked up and gasped to see a relatively young looking face currently grunting with the exertion of blocking the huge axe.

He turned to where Chrom was still standing and shouted, "Help!"

Chrom shook himself, began running again, and said, "Right!" Raising his sword for a deadly finish, he began letting out a long battle cry and the creature's attention was momentarily distracted. In that moment, the other warrior felt the weight of the axe off his back, and the creature, realizing what had happened, tried to swing back, but then Chrom's and the stranger's swords both sliced through the terrible monster and then it was quiet.

Which was shortly interrupted by a deathly moan as the creature once again, disintegrated into purple smoke once again.

Lissa, who had been holding up her staff still, lowered it once the danger was gone and saw as the masked warrior began to slowly sheath his weapon.

Chrom however, still held onto his sword and he said, "Quite an entrance. What's your name?"

The masked warrior slowly turned to face Chrom but just then, the huge battle horse carrying Frederick and Robin came into view.

"There they are!" Robin shouted and he quickly got off the horse as Frederick did the same.

"Milord! Milady! Are you hurt?!" Frederick exclaimed as he quickly examined each to make sure each was free from injury.

Lissa, who saw more of the horrifying creatures they had just fought start to appear, pointed at them to warm them and said, "Frederick! Robin!"

The tactician turned to Lissa's pointing figure and saw the creatures for himself. And as they shambled into view, he could swear one of them turned its glowing red eyes to him. A flash exploded in Robin's mind and he heard evil cackling and a demonic sounding roar, and he saw legions and legions of glowing red eyes, but just as quickly as the vision had come, it had gone again and he wasn't even sure if he had seen it.

He shook his head to clear it and asked, "Are such horrific creatures commonplace in these lands?"

"They're not from Ylisse, I promise you that." Chrom said firmly.

After completing his visual inspection, Frederick said, "No one is injured, then? Thank the gods…"

Lissa, who was still slightly pale from her near death experience, tried to smile as she said, "Thank the masked man who saved me! If it wasn't for him, I'd be…" She looked around for a moment, realized he was gone, then exclaimed, "Hey! Where did he go?"

Frederick raised his lance, after taking it out of its stirrup in his horse's saddle and said, "We can worry about him later, AFTER we put these… things… to the blade."

Robin nodded and drew his own sword and retried his tome as Frederick continued, "Eyes open, now. We know nothing about this enemy."

"Right." Chrom said determinedly as he raised his own weapon."

Robin quickly scanned the potential battleground and he saw several of the slouching creatures, but he also saw other buildings as well. Small wooden or stone structures and he asked thoughtfully, "Hmm? Are those…"  
"Abandoned forts, yes." Frederick replied.

Robin nodded. The forts would provide a strategic advantage when fighting against these monsters as defending them would be relatively easy and with the higher ground, an attacker was more exposed than the defender. Gesturing to some of them, he said, "Then we should take shelter in them whenever possible. No doubt that they will offer distinct advantages in battle."

Robin paused for a moment before realizing that the other three Shepherds were looking at him. He was about to ask why they were staring at him so intensely, then remembered that Chrom had pretty much established him as the tactician of the Shepherds so he cleared his throat once to catch his breath and began to speak. "Alright, we seem to be in a lucky spot that there aren't too many of these things around, the forts can work to our advantage and as long as we stick together, fight as one to deal with this threat, and have Lissa treat any injuries before they get real nasty, we should be in the clear, now let's do this!"

Pointing his sword to a small group of the creatures, Robin said, "Alright, Chrom. You and I will go handle those over there. Frederick, there's a batch of them over beyond the hill, do you think you can draw them back to the fort?"

"Consider it done." Frederick said stoically.

"Lissa," Robin continued. "Stay out of the front line but if you see any of us start to get injured, don't be afraid to heal us up!"

"You got it!" Lissa said energetically as she held up her staff. "With me on the job, I'll make sure that not a scratch gets on any of you!"

"Frederick, when you start drawing them back, do anything you can to get my attention!" Robin said. "That way, that'll be the signal for me and Chrom to withdraw to this fort." And looking at the surroundings, he pointed to one which had a very distinct tree growing outside its walls.

Frederick nodded in understanding of this plan before mounting his horse. After being seated in the saddle, he said to the animal, "Alright, boy! Hyah! Hyah! Let's get moving!"

Robin, who watched the knight depart, looked back to Chrom and brandished his sword. "You ready?"

"That's my line." Chrom said with a grin then after raising his own sword, shouted, "Let's do this!"

They began to advance on the creatures, Robin shot a bolt of thunder out of one hand which caught the thing by surprise and it got jolted back from the impact, and as it was doing this, Chrom's sword flashed by and severed it in half until it disappeared into that purple smoke which almost looked like liquid.

Chrom slashed out at another of the horrible creatures. It hurled a clumsy axe stroke back at him but he easily sidestepped it to give Robin room to charge forward to impale it straight through its chest with his own bronze sword.

The tactician turned around to see another one bearing down on him. He raised his sword to quickly block the deadly blow and with his other hand, he cast a thunder spell that knocked it back. Chrom saw this and took advantage of this by jumping straight into the air and plunging his sword through the fallen creature. Robin however, was not fast enough to see a rotted looking sword jab forward. Pure instinct saved him as he tried to awkwardly twist out of its way, but a few centimeters of point were able to find their way into his side.

Robin let out a little shout of pain at this, and Chrom who was next to him and heard this, turned straight around and rammed the pommel of his sword into the creature's head before running it through down to the hilt.

"Robin!" Chrom shouted as he quickly gave his friend's wound a glance. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah! Yeah! I'm fine!" Robin replied and he gingerly touched the point in where blood was now welling from it. "He just got me a little that's all." He grimaced. The blade had not looked clean in any sense of the word and he had no doubt that the wound was now infected. That was until…

A warm glow started to surround him and the pain from the injury was lessening at an exponentially growing rate. Robin turned around and could see Lissa standing a few feet away from him with her staff raised. It, and the wound glowing until it closed and could no longer feel pain.

Shooting the young healer a quick smile, Robin said, "Thanks, Lissa!"

"Yup!" She said energetically back.

Chrom and Robin continued in this manner for a few minutes and they were pretty efficient at dispatching the monsters. However, there were many more than the latter had previously anticipated and he knew that while they could still keep fighting, it'd be worse if they were stuck in the open while their strength rapidly fell.

"I think," Robin said as he thrust his sword into another one of the monsters, "it's time that we hightail it back to the fort!"

Chrom nodded and replied, "I think you may be right on that call!"

"Alright, let's get Lissa and head back!" Robin shotued. Shaking his head, he realized Frederick hadn't even arrived back yet, but he wasn't looking forward to all the things that would inevitably be following him.

However, what Robin didn't see was the single rider on horseback that was quickly making her way through the forest towards where all the commotion was going on. "Hyah! Hyah!" She said as she urged her horse on to greater and greater speeds. "We need to reach them in time! Come on! Hyah!"

As she reached the burning woods, she saw Chrom, his sister Lissa, and a white haired man she had never seen before retreating before a small crowd of horrific looking undead creatures. Even though she knew they were too far away, she called out anyway, "Captain Chrom! Wait! I'm coming!" She straightened her lance in its stirrup and checked the sword at her side before saying, "Agh, I knew I shouldn'ta left 'em."

She let out a fearsome looking scowl and yelled to the creatures chasing the trio down, "All right, you ash-faced freaks! Which one of ya wants to try my lance on for size first? I know just the spot for it: shoved right up your—"

Just then, a man with styled long light teal hair ran up besides the cavalier, a quiver at his back and a bow in his hands, he called, "Hold, milady!"

"Muh?" The former replied who was for the moment, at a loss for words.

"Life may be long," The archer started to say in a tone which he probably thought was smooth, "but attraction is fleeting! Would you leave me in your sweet dust?"

"I'm honestly amazed you were able to catch up on foot while I was on horseback." The woman said honestly. But the man she was talking to (or more accurately, the man talking AT her), ignored this completely.

"Leave war to the warriors, dear bird! A beauty such as you need wage only love."

The red haired cavalier's face split into something between confusion and a scowl as she said angrily, "... The hell are you?!"

The man, obviously not registering the facial expression, nor the angry tone of voice, instead chose to say, "Ha! Is the lady intrigued? Of course you are—it's only natural." Spreading out his arms in a wide gesture of grandeur, he continued, "I am myth and legend! I am he who strides large across history's greatest stage! The man who puts the 'arch' in 'archer'! My name, dear lady, is Vi—"

The cavalier shook her head impatiently and cut him off, "Sorry, Ruffles—no time for this. Onward!" And she started to spur her horse.

"Virion! … Er, my name. It's Virion. W-wait! Where are you going?" The flabbergasted archer called after the retreating figure. "Pray, at least tell me your name!"

She stopped for just a moment, turned back and said, "I'm Sully. And I'm a Shepherd."

Virion, now relieved that for the moment that she wouldn't be going anywhere, went back to his routine, " 'Sully'! How divine! A starkly beautiful name, as befits its owner, truly." With a sly look on his face, he also asked, "Will you marry me, my dearest Sully?"

Sully put one of her fingers in her ears and rubbed into it, as if to confirm that she really did hear what she just heard and asked in exasperation, "Will I what now? Oh wait I get it." She tapped the side of her head knowingly and added, "This is a joke. And when I put my boot through your face—that's the punchline."

Virion seemed to have an inexorable talent to where he could face such insults (and threats from someone who clearly looked able to carry them out) with a manner of bravery… To an extent. He flipped his hair back and said understandingly, "I realize my many figure and noble bearing can be overwhelming. 'Tis common!" The sly grin returning to his face, he said, "So please, don't feel pressured to answer right a—"

"How's THIS for an answer?!" Sully shouted and aimed a kick straight towards Virion's shin.

"OOF! G-goodness, but those shapely legs certainly can kick, can't they…" The archer gasped out while trying to hide the enormous amount of pain that his leg had just registered. "P-please, milady! Allow me to accompany you, at least!" And just as fast as Sully's kick had been, so was Virion's next slew of "suave" ditter. "Mind is a cold, empty world without you. I shall be your most willing servant, and you, in turn, will give my life purpose…"

Sully shook her head and sighed. "Fine… Anything to shut you up. What, stop staring at me like that! Now come on! Captain Chrom, Lissa, and that other man are heading to the fort! They must have at least eight of those things on them!" Looking to the bow that the other man held, she said heavily, "I hope you're at least as good with that as you are with talking!"

She held up a hand to help Virion onto the saddle, but much to her surprise, he put one foot in the stirrup and lifted himself gracefully up until he was sitting behind the cavalier. With another grin that wasn't sly or wolfish, he replied, "Ohho! I do think milady will be very impressed indeed."

Sully shook her head again. "We'll see, now hold tight, hyah!" And with the last word, she dug her boots into the horse and it took off.

"Robin!" Chrom shouted as he tried to urge Lissa onwards to greater speed. "Come on! We're almost at the fort!"

"I'm trying to keep these things off of us!" Robin shouted back as he sent thunder spells hurtling back towards their pursuers. But between him trying to run as fast as he could and trying to cast and aim spells, many of them either struck areas that were non lethal, or missed the monsters completely.

Just then, Robin heard a deep throated "thrum!" it sounded as if from a bow and he started to sweat. The creatures they had seen so far had used a variety of weapons. Swords, axes, pikes and lances. But he hadn't seen one with a bow yet. The prospect frightened him. These seemingly mindless creatures having the motor capability to use such a weapon? But then he heard another sound too.

The sound of stampeding horse hooves became louder and louder as he saw two figures atop the steed. One was a fierce looking red headed warrior, shouting out her exertions as she swiped left and right from her elevated position on the saddle. The other was a light teal haired man, dressed rather elaborately for being in battle, and he held a bow which was singing its deadly song as arrows whizzed from it, into the heads or chests of the other creatures that the rider wasn't taking care of.

Soon enough, the group that had been pursuing them had all but been taken care of and their bodies laid still on the ground for just a moment until they fizzled out of existence in purple smoke.

The duo reached them and they both dismounted and as the first person got off, Chrom recognized her.

"Sully?! What are you doing out here?!"

She smiled fiercely and punched Chrom's arm in greeting. "Good to see ya too! I was dispatched to find ya after we heard from the capital that the area you, Lissa, and Frederick went to had been attacked!" She punched his arm again and said in a mock scolding way, "It's your fault that you made me stay behind!"

"Well, your timing was impeccable!" Chrom said, smiling despite how numb his arm suddenly felt as he rubbed it. "And your friend?..."

Sully didn't even have to answer as the archer immediately seized upon this. "Oho! My friend, the man you stare on, is the archest of all archers! The ones that the bards shall sing about! I am Vi—"

"He's Virion." Sully interrupted before he could go on any further. "And as you just saw, he's not half bad with that stick he's got there."

"I beg your pardon, milady!" Virion said indignantly. "What I hold here is not some mere stick! It is the result of an artisan wood being carefully crafted to—"

Chrom however, was not paying attention and he said distractedly, "Good with a bow? Good. Good. Because you're going to need it again real soon!" And he pointed off into the direction where Robin had sent his retainer.

Sure enough, they saw the huge knight galloping back at full speed with a small crowd of the monsters following behind him, making their moaning sounds in his wake.

"Who's YOUR friend ya got there Chrom?" Sully asked pointing at the white haired man who was standing next to him.

"We can explain that later!" Chrom answered as he drew his sword. "Right now, all you need to know is his name is Robin and I've appointed him to be our tactician! Now everyone get inside the fort!" Looking at his friend, he said, "Robin, you're our strategist, tell us what to do."

The white haired man quickly stared at the walls of the fort, the approaching Frederick, then to his companions and after thinking for a short moment, nodded simply. "Sully, Virion" He pointed to where Chrom's retainer was riding from. "Give Frederick some breathing room! Either run them down with your horse, slash at them, or shoot them I don't care! As soon as you've done that, come back here and Virion, I want you on top of that wall!"

They both nodded and as Sully remounted, she said to the archer, "Come on, Ruffles, you heard the man!" Soon, they both were off, riding into the distance.

"Chrom, you and I will stay on the ground to give them some cover when they come back." Robin said. "Any of them that get through my spells are all yours!"

"That's no problem!" The warrior replied.

"And Lissa!" Robin called as he looked to Chrom's younger sister. "Make sure we don't die!"

She couldn't even respond because at that moment, Frederick came stampeding back into the small courtyard of the fort, he quickly dismounted and after finding Robin, said, "There are about fifteen of them. Sully and some other man on her horse went by and are making clean work of them, but the last I saw, they were riding back to here."

"Excellent." Robin said, but was interrupted by Chrom.

"Here they come!" He shouted and as Sully and Virion came into the safety of the fort's walls, Robin, Frederick, and himself began pushing as hard as they could on the rotted wooden doors that originally stood to serve as the fort's entrance. They only barely managed to close it before bodies began to slam against it, hacking away at the wood with their weapons.

"Virion! Get up high! Now!" Robin shouted as he held against the door.

"As you say, good sir!" The archer called back. "These foul things shall bother you no more after they feel my arrows!" He began running up a stairwell to the right of the entrance which led up to the wall's walkways.

Suddenly, a spear poked through the rotted wood and made a hole there, the creatures on the other side immediately set to make it bigger.

"Damn!" Robin shouted. "Frederick, hold the door!"

The knight nodded and after gritting his teeth, leaned all of his weight and strength on it as Robin jumped back and began shooting spells through the opening. He heard mild groaning and moaning through the other side and felt the impact lessening slightly. After taking a break from the spellcasting, he heard Sully behind him yelling out her wary cry as she began shoving a lance through the opening as well.

"Get back you freaks!" She shouted as she continued driving forward.

"Sully be careful!" Robin called to her. "Don't go too far or something might—" His heart lurched as he heard a gasp of pain.

A spear had gotten through and pierced through Sully's left shoulder, but she shrugged this off, growled right back at the thing that had done it, and shoved her lance right back, twice as hard. The monster that got her moaned and vanished leaving Sully to gasp in pain as she clutched the deadly wound.

"Lissa!" Robin shouted. "Get over here, now!"

The young healer came running over and after Robin gestured to Sully, she said, "Sully, take a step back for a second."

The fiery redhead tried to shrug her off, saying, "I'm fine dammit! Leave me!"

Robin however, shook his head firmly, "No. You're done, Sully. This wound will bleed out if Lissa doesn't treat it, please…" And Sully actually looked up in shock at how quiet and serious that this man she had just met had gotten. "You don't need to fall for as something as silly as this."

"Robin, I— Alright. I'll let Lissa heal me." Sully said willingly.

"Good." He replied.

"Robin, good sir!" Virion called from his perch, "I do believe I've found their commander!"

"These mindless things have leaders?" Robin said to himself, then he shook his head and shouted back, "What are you waiting for then?! Shoot him!"

"With pleasure." Virion replied and he drew an arrow very deliberately from his quiver. Their leader was about one hundred to a hundred and fifty meters away he thought as he measured the distance in his mind. He nocked the arrow and pulled the string back slowly, deliberately and breathed out. Then, Virion released the tension and sent the arrow streaking on its way. It flew true for a half second, then began to lurch down. With a satisfying "thud!" it struck the leader directly between the eyes.

All of a sudden, the commotion outside the gate was quiet. Robin cautiously peeked his head through the hole that they had made there, and saw plumes of purple smoke leaking into the ground.

"They're gone?" Chrom asked as he panted, leaning his weight on his sword from the intense fight.

"They're gone— oh? What's this? Someone with a mask is approaching the gate. Is this who you were talking about earlier?" Robin asked.

Immediately, Chrom stood up, went over to the hole and peered through. Sure enough, the masked man that had helped them early was striding towards it. "Open the gate!" He said and with and effort, they began to do so.

Frederick walked forward as well and said, "It seems all the creatures are vanquished. This young man took care of the others."

"There were more than what was just here?" Chrom asked quietly.

Frederick nodded. "Oh yes, when Robin sent me off to get them to come back here, I saw this young man fighting what looked like a small battalion of them."

"And you didn't help him?" Robin asked, thinking this was very out of character for the honorable knight.

"Of course I tried to." Frederick replied, "But as soon as I did, he told me to just get going and that he could handle himself. I had no reason not to believe him as he looked like he was getting on just fine."

"Fighting even more of them than we did alone…" Chrom said and he shook his head in amazement.

The masked man still stood among them quietly, not saying a word.

Lissa stepped towards him timidly and said, "Um, I never got to thank you… for before. So… thank you. You were very brave."

"You saved my sister's life." Chrom added with a smile. "And… the rest of ours as well. My name is Chrom. Might I ask yours?"

There was silence from the masked man for a moment, then he replied, "You may call me Marth."

Chrom's earlier notion of how much this young man had looked like he was wearing something out of the old legends of the hero king seemed to be proven true and he said, "Marth? After the heroic king of old?" Shaking his head, he smiled again and said, "You certainly fight like a hero,that much is for certain. Tell me, where did you learn your way with a sword?"

Marth however, ignored this question. "I'm not here to talk about me. This world teeters at the brink of a horrible calamity. What you saw tonight was but a prelude. You have been warned."

Just then, Robin walked up, he had been with Sully as her wounds had been treated to make sure she was ok and he wanted to hear what this stranger had to say. "Chrom, so what's the deal with—" Just then, he saw the masked man's head whip around to stare at him. And even though he couldn't see the eyes behind the mask, he was certain (he had no idea how mind you) that they were looking at him with a malice he had yet to feel before.

Robin was on the brink of drawing his sword, but just then, abruptly, any eye contact he felt that was there, was broken and he continued to walk away.

Lissa called after him. "Huh? What's teetering where now? Hey, wait!"

The white haired tactician shook off the feeling he just had and tried to say conversationally, "Not much for conversation, is he?"

Frederick however, simply turned away from the retreating figure. "It appears his skills lie elsewhere. I wager we'll hear his name again…" Gesturing to the east, he added, "But for now, I'm more concerned about the capital. We should make haste."

"I agree with you, Frederick." Chrom said and as he saw Virion joining them from his vantage point, he said, "So Virion, do you want to be a Shepherd? Your aim, as much as I hate to admit it, is as good as you say it to be."

Virion made a winning smile. "Oh milord, you do flatter me so. If you do feel that this merry band would be made better with my presence, then who am I to deny you of such skills?"

Robin grinned. "Fair enough. Alright, let's try to get some sleep for whatever left of night we have left, and make for the capital first thing tomorrow!"

As the group began to set up camp in the fort's courtyard and organized a guard roster, somewhere from higher up in a vantage point overlooking the fort, a hooded figure watched them. Wearing an elaborate coat with purple eyes going up and down the sleeve, he quietly observed. In particular, the white haired man among them wearing a coat identical to his.

"Hmmph." he snorted in derision. "So. It's begun."


	6. Chapter 2: Shepherds

**Hello everyone! I'm deeply sorry for the longer wait on this one, the only thing I can say for myself is, last week was quite a hectic one for me! . But! But, you will be glad to hear that part 2 of this chapter is pretty much in the works now as you are reading this and as such will be up in a few days to make up for the fact that I didn't keep my promise on weekly uploads at the latest! As such though, here are some things I want to mention about this chapter and the story following shortly after.**

 **1\. Now, we're getting into the stage where we're starting to meet A LOT of characters at once. However, I do want to remind you all that this story revolves around the characters, Robin, Chrom, and an unknown 3rd (don't want to spoil it for any people who maybe haven't played the game before!). With that being said however, I will make sure proper justice and care are brought to ALL these characters, just don't expect me to make hugely important uses of them for every chapter/battle in Awakening's story, because fleshing out a huge cast of characters that Awakening has is already going to be challenging enough!**

 **There's going to be some stuff after this chapter that I'm going to ask for your opinion on! So without further ado (and once again with my deepest apologies), here is the next installment in, The Awakening!**

 **Chapter 2: Shepherds**

 **Ylisstol: Ylisse**

They had been on the road for a couple days ever since their first encounter and battle with the horrific creatures that had fallen from the sky. In the time since then, they had been understandably worried about encountering more of them during their journey to the nation's capital. However, while their fears were understandable, they seemed to be proven groundless. As of yet, the group of travellers had not had another hostile encounter, be it bandits or the monsters.

Sully's wound had initially been a serious issue, but thanks to Lissa's gift in the healing arts, it proved to be nothing more than a minor annoyance to the red-haired warrior as she went through her day to day tasks. She'd grunt in pain as the wound hampered various things. For example, if she twisted over to adjust something on her belt or horse, the shoulder would send a twinge of pain which would make her stop, and Lissa immediately go over to check on her.

Virion proved to be an interesting character as well. While he was revealing nothing about his past (he'd constantly grin and shrug it off every time someone asked), Robin had a suspicion that he was a noble. Still, even if he was a noble, his combat prowess with a bow was certainly impressive and Robin was glad that they had such a capable marksman with them.

So far, Robin had only been "awake" and "living" for technically less than a week. During that time, he had fought bandits, a bear, and a horde of undead monster soldiers. So with all this being said, it was a nice and pleasant surprise when the travelling group had finally entered within the borders of Ylisse's capital city.

It was around late morning when they had arrived so the citizens were out and about for their daily routines. As Robin swung his head around in wonder taking in the sights and the smells, he saw street vendors shouting out to the masses to try out their wares, or else heard cooks trying to entice people for an early lunch. A few times, he heard raucous laughter as friends shared a joke with one another and the tactician smiled. As mentioned previously, his time awake and with his identity had been a very violent one so far. So to see something as simple as regular and normal life within a big city somehow provided comfort to the white haired man.

Just then, one vendor caught his eye. She had a pretty face and dark red hair which was fell neatly on both sides of her head and had a small center, but was bunched up in a messy, flowing ponytail behind. She was giving out a winning smile and had her pointer finger placed on the tip of her chin.

"Come see Anna!" She shouted out still with that winning smile. "That's me by the way! Come see Anna for the finest goods you'll find in Ylisse!"

"It's a shame I don't have any money on me." Robin said idly.

"What was that?" Chrom asked, puzzled.

Gesturing to the redheaded merchant that they had just passed as they continued walking towards the castle, Robin said, "It's a shame I don't have any money, I would have liked to get a look at what some of these people here are selling."

"Ha! You're the tactician for the Shepherds now!" Chrom said jokingly. "The gold will just come pouring in and you can buy whatever it is you desire!"

Robin rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, yeah. My one path to become the richest man in the continent is through the army." But as he looked around, he had to appreciate the beauty of the city. "So this is Ylisstol, capital of Ylisse… I've never seen so many people!"

Frederick rode up besides them and seemed to appreciate Robin's sentiment. "It appears the capital was spared the chaos we encountered, thank the gods for that as well." Gesturing to how everything still seemed to stand tall, he added, "I see no evidence of the great quake, it must've been limited to the forest."

Just then, an old man who had been sitting at a table with some friends looked up and after seeing someone, shouted excitedly, "Look! The exalt has come to see us!"

Just then, Robin saw an exceptionally graceful and beautiful woman, surrounded by armed guards, began to walk regally down the aisles of the busy district of Ylisstol. Curiously as well, she had a symbol on the center of her forehead that matched the one on Chrom's arm. She wore a smile on her face that said, despite the positive reception she was getting for her arrival, she was not letting this get to her head. In fact, this smile seemed to bring much comfort and reassurance to Robin as he saw something there that instantly reminded him of a protective older sister.

She exuberated a calm, but yet quiet confidence about her and despite having never met her and only really laying eyes on her for less than a minute, Robin decided that she was a leader that he would follow to the death. "The exalt is your ruler, yes?" He asked.

Frederick, who had heard Robin's question, answered it. "Yes. Her name is Lady Emmeryn."

"Hmm…" Robin pandered. Surrounded by armed guards or not, he was still unsure whether it was wise for the ruler of a land to so casually stroll amongst its subjects and he asked, "Is it safe for her to walk among commoners like this?"

Frederick shook his head, "The exalt is a symbol of peace—Ylisse's most prized quality. Long ago, at the dawn of our age, the fell dragon tried to destroy the world."

At the words 'fell dragon', Robin saw a flash of red light in his head and in the middle of the suddenly ensuing darkness, he heard evil laughter as the head of a twisted dragon began to rise out of the shadows. But again, like all the other visions he'd had before, it was gone before he knew it to where he didn't even think he saw anything. He realized Frederick was still talking and shook his head to clear it.

"But the first exalt joined forces with the divine dragon and laid the beast low." said Frederick. "Exalt Emmeryn reminds us all of the peace we fought for then." He finished this statement with a smile.

This time, Chrom joined the conversation by saying seriously, "With Plegia poking at our borders, the people need her. She's a calming presence, when some might otherwise call for war."

"I do admit that I've felt strangely at peace ever since seeing her." said Robin. Then he added, "With such a ruler, the Ylissean people are indeed lucky to have her."

Lissa, who had just came up between the trio of men, also said cheerfully, "She's also the best big sister anyone could ask for!"

Robin grinned down at the younger girl and said, "Yes, I imagine she…" Then he had only grasped the magnitude of what Lissa had said and his face turning from a smile to a shocked expression, he burst out, "Wait, what?! She's your… But wouldn't that make you and Chrom—"

Frederick finished his sentence for him, laughing slightly, "The prince and princess of the realm, yes. You remember Chrom's name and not this?"

Robin held up his hands and said indignantly, "You said you were 'shepherds'!"

"And so we are… in a manner of speaking." Chrom interjected. "We just have a LOT of sheep."

The poor white haired tactician, suddenly realizing everything he had done over the past few days in the company of what he now knew was Ylisse's royalty, scrambled to bow forward clumsily and he stammered, "C-Chrom… I mean, Prince Chrom! Sire! Forgive my dreadful manners!"

The blue haired prince (as Robin now knew he was) laughed and shook his hand at the honorifics, "Just Chrom is fine. I've never been much for formalities."

Robin stood up from his stooped position and in wonder, said, "The prince and princess… That explains why Frederick tolerates all the teasing, eh?"

The knight suddenly nodded gravely. "Indeed. Oh, the sacrifices I make for the good of the realm…"

Chrom gestured to the walking exalt and said, "It looks like Emm is returning to the palace. Would you like to meet her?"

Robin nodded enthusiastically, "I'd love to meet her! Hopefully the fact that you only just met me won't make her wary!"

Chrom smiled, "Believe me, she won't. She'll trust you, you don't need to worry, Robin. And if anyone else gives you trouble while going into the palace, I'll handle them."

A little while later, Chrom had made sure that Sully would be taken care of for her wounds by sending her to the Shepherd's main healer and physician. With Virion, he had also made sure to give the archer proper accommodations in the headquarters of the Shepherds which was located in the grounds of Ylisse's palace.

After this was done, Chrom, Lissa, Frederick, and Robin began to walk towards the main hall where Emmeryn was. However, as slightly to be expected, their entrance was barred by a guard who did not recognize Robin.

"Who is this man?" He asked gruffly as he took in the new white haired stranger.

"This is Robin." Chrom said with a note of finality in his voice. "And he's a friend."

The guard hadn't picked up on this tone which undoubtedly would broker no question, but he was persistent and he shook his head. "I'm afraid I cannot allow him to see the Exalt."

Chrom sighed and added in a slightly annoyed voice this time, "He saved many innocent Ylissean lives and my life. I want him to meet my sister, there's no problem with that right?"

Robin flushed at the praise from his friend but stayed silent.

The guard finally picked up on this tone and recognized the tone from the blue haired prince and after nodding somewhat nervously, he said, "O-Of course not milord. The exalt Emmeryn is inside waiting for you."

Chrom nodded his thanks and the group entered the building.

Robin could see the Exalt Emmeryn along with a single bodyguard standing in the middle of the grand hallway waiting for them and as the other three walked forward, he couldn't help but hesitate. This was her family after all save for Frederick, he didn't want to intrude on this reunion. But As they advanced, Chrom beckoned him to walk forward to meet her anyways.

"Chrom! Lissa! Welcome home." Emmeryn said in a gentle, yet carrying voice. She turned to their retainer and added, "Oh, and good day Frederick." Looking to them all at large, she asked, "How fared you all?"

"Well—we shouldn't have any bandit problems for a while." Chrom answered.

"Wonderful." Emmeryn replied. "And our people?"

"Safe as they can be, Emm. But we still need to watch the borders." Chrom said gravely. "The brigands crossed over from Plegia."

The bodyguard Robin saw from earlier now spoke at Chrom's words, "Forgive me, milord. My pegasus knights should have intercepted them."

The prince however, shook his head and said, "No, Phila. Your duty was here, with the exalt."

Lissa moved forward, gave Emmeryn a small hug and said with a laugh, "And besides, we had plenty of help!"

The exalt now turned her eyes to Robin and asked curiously, "Ah, you speak of your new companion here?"

"Indeed, sister." Chrom said, now smiling himself, "This is Robin, He fought bravely with us against the brigands. In light of this, I've decided to make him The Shepherds' tactician."

Robin nodded towards the graceful figure and tried to show a hand gesture that said that his friend was speaking too highly of him. His heart however, skipped a beat and he gulped when he saw the lady Emmeryn give him a very warm smile that seemed to make her beautiful face appear even more so.

"It sounds as though Ylisse owes you a debt of gratitude, Robin." She said gratefully.

Robin gulped again and stammered out, "N-not at all, milady!"

For the first time since they met her, Frederick raised his hand slightly. "Forgive me, Your Grace, but I must speak." Looking somewhat apologetically to Robin, he said, "Robin claims to have lost his memory, but it is only that: a claim. We cannot rule out the possibility that he is a brigand himself or even a Plegian spy, unlikely as it might be."

Chrom looked to his retainer angrily and said, "Frederick!"

Emmeryn raised a hand for peace and her younger brother quickly silenced himself. Then she asked, "Yet you allowed him into the castle, Chrom. Does this man have your trust?"

Chrom nodded adamantly, "Yes. He risked his life for our people and us as well. That's more than good enough for me."

"Well then, Robin…" Emmeryn said. "It seems you've earned Chrom's faith, and as such you have mine as well."

Robin bowed deeply to show how he appreciated the gesture of faith that Ylisse's ruler just placed in him and he just said simply, "Milady."

Emmeryn however, looked to Frederick and said, "But thank you, Frederick, for your prudence, as always. Chrom and Lissa are blessed to have so tireless a guardian." With a small laugh, she added, "I do hope they remember to mention that from time to time…"

"They occasionally express something akin to gratitude, Your Grace." Frederick replied. Then to her bodyguard Phila, the knight asked, "Phila, I assume you've heard about the deathly creatures we encountered, yes?"

The armored woman nodded and answered, "Yes, milord. They've been sighted all across Ylisse."

"So it wasn't an isolated incident." Robin said quietly and made sure to file that information away for later.

Emmeryn turned to her brother and said, "Chrom, we are about to hold council. I was hoping you could join us."

"Of course, Emm." Chrom replied.

With that, Lissa said, "I think that's our cue, Robin! C'mon, there's a place I want to show you."

And as the blonde princess began to run off, Robin once again made a deep bow to the exalt and followed after her.

They walked around the grounds of Ylisse's palace for a short while and saw that they were headed towards the building where Chrom had gone earlier to drop off Virion and as they entered it, Robin instinctively felt his stomach turn over at the mess inside.

There were bags of grain, flour and other items strewn about the place, wooden boxes placed willy nilly, weapons, shields and other gear also laid in random spots as well, but he did also see several people inside too, some cracking jokes and laughing, and others having more serious conversations. He saw Virion in a corner trying to charm a woman about as tall as Lissa, but could tell that he was failing horrendously.

In the center however, he saw a very pretty woman in armor with very long brown hair talking to a man who was very heavily muscled with slicked back blonde hair. As Robin and Lissa got closer, the man let out a round of raucous laughter.

They finally got to within talking distance of them and Lissa spread her hands in a pose of victory. "Here we are! The Shepherds' garrison! Go on, make yourself at home!"

"Could certainly use a clean up." Robin muttered and he filed that away as well that he would have to address this issue in the very near future.

Just then, the blonde woman who Virion had been attempting to win over, noticed the princess and ran over. "Lissa, my treasure!" She said in a voice that made Robin instinctively think of tea for some reason. "Are you alright? I've been on pins and needles!"

"Oh, hey, Maribelle!" Lissa sad cheerfully.

Now that Robin could see her closer, Maribelle had fair blonde hair that was styled in many elaborate curls and he made the judgement that she had to be some noble. But what she was doing in a barrack full of soldiers, he couldn't find the answer to that query.

" 'Oh, hey' yourself! I've sprouted fourteen gray hairs fretting over you!" She said poutily in response to Lissa's rather casual greeting.

Lissa giggled however and after hugging her friend, said, "Aw, you worry too much. I can handle a battle or two!" She paused then said, "... Although I could do without the bugs and the bear barbecue…"

Just then, the hugely muscled man chimed in and said to Lissa, "Hey, squirt! Where's Chrom? I bet he had a rough time out there without ol' Teach and his trusty axe!"

"Oh, so you're 'Teach' now, vaike, is that it?" Lissa asked and followed this up with a laugh. "And here I thought people were just born lacking wits. It can be taught?"

"Ha! Never doubt the Vaike!" The warrior said, then paused and asked, looking rather confused, "... Wait, was that an insult?"

The pretty woman in the armor then asked, "Beg pardon, but when might we see the captain?"

Robin raised an eyebrow at her and could see the slight blush on her cheeks as well as the smile when she mentioned 'the captain' who the tactician could tell was definitely Chrom. _Oh, Chrom_. He thought to himself. _I wonder how long you've been leaving this poor girl hanging._

Maribelle sighed and said, "Poor Sumia. She's been simply beside herself with concern… Her eyes were scanning the horizon all day during training."

Robin smirked slightly at this and checked that theory in his mind as being correct.

"She might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded." Maribelle finished.

"Aw, Sumia, that's so sweet of you to worry about Chrom." Lissa said with her usual smile.

 _Yup._ Robin thought again and he couldn't help keeping the smirk off his face. _Oh, I can definitely have some fun with Chrom about this_.

Sumia let out a nervous laugh and she said, "Worry? Well, I… He's our captain and our prince—of course I'd worry!"

Just then, Vaike seemed to notice Robin for the first time, who had been standing next to Lissa for all these conversations and he asked, "So, who's the stranger?"

"No one's stranger than you, Vaike…" Lissa shot back, but with a grandiose gesture, she pointed both her hands at him and said, "But allow me to introduce, Robin! He just joined the Shepherds. Chrom's made him our new tactician." She jumped up excitedly and added, "You should see all the tricks he's got up his sleeve!"

Vaike now had a very large smirk on his face, and he said challengingly, "Oh yeah? Can he do this?" And he let out an extremely loud and resonating burp.

Robin couldn't help but smile at this and found that this muscled warrior was just inherently likeable. "I'm sure I have much to learn in the belching arts 'Teach.' " And he bowed slightly in his direction. "In any case, it's a pleasure to make all your acquaintances."

Maribelle however was fanning the air around her and said, "Ugh, Vaike! That was abhorrent! Must you baseborn oafs pollute even the air with your buffoonery?" Now brandishing the light pink parasol she held towards the tactician, she said exasperatedly, "And you, Robin! Don't encourage him! I'd hoped you were cut from finger cloth. Hmph!"

Her piece now being said, she strutted off while holding her head up and was muttering something under her breath about, "improper manners" and "who has Chrom brought in now?"

Sumia now looked to Robin and said apologetically, "Don't take it to heart, Robin. Maribelle warms to people slowly." Then she thought for a second and added, "Very slowly."

"Or burns too quickly!" Lissa laughed. "But yeah, just give her time."

"I assure you," Robin said. "I haven't gotten burned of any sort, I actually find it funny to see the dynamic that all of you have going on here!"

"And it's nicer to see that everyone has taken a liking to you thus far, my friend!" Chrom said as he seemingly appeared from nowhere as he put a hand on Robin's shoulder. "Save for maybe Maribelle." He added after a pause, "But as Lissa said, she'll come around in the end."

"Ah! Captain!" Sumia suddenly exclaimed. "I was—I mean, we were so—" She tried to run forward but whether it was due to clumsiness or extremely bad luck (maybe even a combination of the two), her foot landed on several sheets of parchment that were on the floor and as such, she slipped on them and ended up falling face first to the ground.

Robin winced quite hard at the solid impact that Sumia's face had made with the ground and thought back earlier to his observation that upon first meeting her, he had thought that she was rather quite pretty. _Maybe it's not something that happens very often._ He thought, but then also remembered what Maribelle was saying about, "She might have earned fewer bruises fighting blindfolded". _If she is as clumsy as I think she is, she's lucky that it doesn't seem to show all that often on her face._

Chrom however, had a very worried expression and he exclaimed, "Sumia! Are you alright?... Those boots of yours again?"

 _Oh, I don't think it was just her boots, Chrom._ Robin thought mischievously and the smirk returned to his face once again.

Poor Sumia on the other hand, was attempting to stutter out a reply. "No! I mean, yes! I mean…" And she sighed deeply.

"Well, if you're sure you're alright…" Chrom said, then he cleared his throat. "Alright, listen everyone: in the morning, we'll be marching to Regna Ferox."

Hearing yet another name that he was unfamiliar with, Robin asked, "Regna Ferox?" and was slightly surprised to hear Sumia answer his question.

"A unified kingdom to Ylisse's north. Inhabited by barbarians, or so it's said."

Chrom however, clarified one thing about the young woman's answer, "Warriors are what they are, and we'll need their strength to quell this new menace. Typically, the exalt would request such aid in person. But given recent events…" He shrugged off the thought and continued, "Well, the people might worry should my sister suddenly leave the capital. So the task has been passed to us."

The warrior prince looked around to all of them yet again and was sure to say, "Now, this mission is strictly voluntary. So if, for any—"

Immediately, his younger sister chimed, "I volunteer!"

This was then shortly followed by Vaike saying almost as loudly as Lissa, "Me too! You'll be needin' ol' Teach along for such a delicate mission!"

Then, a voice seemingly coming from nowhere also said, "I'll go as well… What? I've been here the whole time!"

Robin whipped his head around trying to find the source of the voice but was unable to do. "What in all the gods…" He muttered to himself.

Sumia on the other hand… "I… I, um…"

Chrom turned to face her and asked, "Yes, Sumia?"

"It's just that… I'm not sure I'm quite ready for a proper mission just yet." said Sumia. "I'd probably just get in the way."

"Well, you could stay behind the main group," Chrom said thoughtfully, "and if a battle is met, just watch and learn? Your choice, of course. But some lessons can only be learned on the battlefield."

Sumia wore a small smile now and said a little more energetically, "W-well, if you think it wise, Captain."

Chrom returned the expression and said kindly, "Just stay by me and you'll be fine."

He turned before he could see the woman in front of him blush furiously at this and Robin once again filed this away as potential material to use against Chrom in a joke of some sorts.

Sumia however, did say (maybe a little too happily it must be noted), "Oh, yes! I mean— Yes, sir, I'll do that!"

The white haired tactician couldn't help himself. He nudged Chrom and said, grinning, "I think Sumia rather likes the idea of sticking close to you, milord." This last word however, was said more sarcastically than out of any form of respect.

The blue haired prince however, turned a confused look back to him and said, "I mean, I guess so? It'd be nice for her to get some experience this way."

This time, Robin was the one who placed the hand on his friend's shoulder and was about to say something, then shook his head, smiled in a way that Chrom wasn't quite sure he liked, and said, "I'm sure you'll figure it out in the end."

 **Hello once again! So I sincerely hoped that you enjoyed this next chapter, you may have noticed that Robin is starting to develop into more than just the blank slate that he was at the start of this story (which is natural of course!). However, I do want to ask if this portrayal of Robin is something that you all like and agree with. My impression of Robin through playing Awakening was that he was a kind, friendly, and very charismatic/likeable man, but that he could be very sarcastic and snarky when he chose to be. I tried to start introducing those elements in this chapter.**

 **However, one of the biggest missteps I see in other people's portrayal of Robin in their own novelizations of Awakening's story, is that all too often, instead of being a clever, sometimes sarcastic man, he is instead portrayed as being an absolute asshole to his friends. Looking down his nose and condescendingly judging them. If those writers were trying to make a different character, I'd say that's more than alright, but when you call the character "Robin" and are trying to stay true to his character, that portrayal is more than a little... unflattering to his character to say the least. Another thing I wanted to say about Robin, is that he's the kind ofperson that I can picture being able to read other people's thoughts/emotions pretty accurately! (such as when he deduces that Sumia definitely likes Chrom).**

 **So I hope that I was able to still keep his character accurate by starting to introduce those little quirks, but at the same time, making sure that he's still the same Robin that we all know and love! (After all, in a story where he's one of the main characters and it follows his perspective through most of the story, not liking him will be rather annoying!)**

 **So, with all that being said my friends, be sure to keep on the lookout for the next installment, leave me a review and your thoughts/criticisms/feedback/etc, I appreciate all kinds! And to keep updated whenever I upload, be sure to follow this story! Once again, you all have my deepest thanks!**


	7. Chapter 2: Shepherds (Robin's Outing)

**Hello everyone! Here is the next installment in the Awakening! A couple things once again before we begin, this chapter covers Robin's first encounters with some of the Shepherds and also covers some other things that I thought would have been cool to include in the game! The final part of this chapter is in the works and should be up in a few days! Once again my friends, thank you all for your support!**

 **Chapter 2: Shepherds (Robin's Outing)**

 **Ylisstol: Ylisse**

After Chrom's briefing earlier, the tactician had decided to go out into the town and both Chrom and Emmeryn had offered him a moderately large sum of money. They called it, "an advance" for deciding to take on the role of the Shepherd's chief tactician. Initially, Robin had tried to refuse this. Saying that he couldn't possibly take this much gold from the Royal Family despite having only just met the two of them very recently.

The exalt had simply smiled and told him to think of it as nothing more than a gift for helping to save Ylissean citizens at Southtown. Chrom however, had slapped him on the back and told him to just think of it as compensation for the amount of work that the latter would inevitably have to do in the near future.

Even though Robin would have been just fine without the money that Chrom and his sister have given him, he did have to admit that it certainly came in handy. This meant that Robin would have some time just to wander around Ylisstol and get a feel for the realm and Halidom that he was about to serve. He also figured that it was the ideal time to do a bit of thinking as well.

As Robin had walked outside the grounds of the palace and onto the capital city itself, he breathed in the warm evening air and sighed contentedly. The tactician may have woken just a few days earlier and only having some clue as to who he was, but he was grateful that in that short time, he had met people who accepted him as one of their own rather quickly.

"Other than Maribelle," Robin said to himself as he walked the still busy lanes of Ylisse's shopping district, "I think they all rather like me." He smiled to himself as he thought of Sumia's almost childlike feelings of romance for Chrom and he imagined a scenario in which she had always harbored such emotions and tried continually to get him to notice them.

He imagined another scenario where the hugely muscled warrior Vaike, was always doing things that would constantly annoy the rather stiff and upright Maribelle, which would put her at odds to the always cheerful Lissa. She was the kind of person who could always find the humor in any kind of joke, whether the actual quality of the joke was actually good or not.

Then, a familiar voice he had heard earlier had broken his train of thought.

"Come see Anna!" The voice shouted. "That's me by the way! Come see Anna for the finest goods you'll find in Ylisse!"

Robin turned his head and saw the dark red haired merchant from earlier when he, Chrom and the others had first entered the shopping district. Tapping the shoulder bag at his side, he felt the compartment where he had placed the gold that he had been given and heard the musical jingle of coins.

Shrugging, he said out loud, "Mmmm, why not? I actually have some money for it, maybe this Anna will have something that will peak my interest." Remembering that she was a merchant, he grinned and corrected himself, "Or something that will have me making a bad decision to be more accurate."

The white haired man approached the merchant stand with a friendly smile and a wave and the woman, who was obviously Anna reciprocated in kind.

When he got closer, she placed her pointer finger near the bottom of her chin and winked at him. "So, whatcha looking for today?"

Robin stepped back slightly in alarm because from a distance, it looked like Anna was running just a standard merchant's stand but as he had stepped within the proximity of the temporary wooden structure, it had seemed to expand to twice or even thrice its original size and carry even more items than he remembered seeing at first.

There were weapons of all kinds, jewelry of varying states of flashiness, books, clothes, and even a strange looking map which had way too many zeroes tacked on the end of that price tag to even consider.

Among the piles of weaponry however, Robin looked past the swords, axes, spears and other various items. Within the depths of the metal and wood, he noticed several tomes of varying sized and thickness of contents. Some looked like the thunder tome that he carried, while others had different symbols and colors to the covers and spines.

Robin lifted several of the tomes and after shuffling through various ones, he settled on three. One with a yellow cover like his thunder tome (but with a slightly more elaborate symbol), another with a green cover which showed a simple depiction of a gust of wind, and another with a red cover with the same style depiction of fire.

"I think these are more so my fancy for today!" He said as he brought the items over to the merchant whose mouth opened slightly with an "oooh" of interest.

"Mage I presume?" Anna asked and she winked as she did this.

Robin however, smiled sheepishly and shook his head. "As far as I can tell, I'm no mage. I'm just a man who happens to have some proficiency in the skill is all."

"Oh no, I can tell you're a real magical talent!" The redhead said enthusiastically.

"Please," the tactician said humbly as he waved a hand, "I'm nothing like how you say I—"

But before he could complete this sentence, Anna was already talking again. "And that's why for such a talented man as yourself, I can sell you those three tomes for the low and bargain price of two thousand gold!"

"—am… WAIT WHAT?!" Robin exclaimed in shock and horror as he finished his sentence and also heard Anna's terms for the items he'd picked out. "There's no way that these tomes can cost that much!"

Anna however, simply just winked at him and said, "It's a bargain deal for finding such quality items at Anna's!"

Robin's eyes narrowed skeptically and he said, "Really. Is that so? Then it shouldn't matter to you if I put these down and go see that other vendor over there that looks like he also sells magical tomes?..."

Immediately, the redheaded merchant scowled and said, "That man is nothing more than a fraud! Only my products are assured!"

"Mmhmm." said Robin in disbelief.

. . .

Meanwhile back at the palace, Emmeryn was sitting with Chrom in her personal room. The subject in question they were discussing was only a few minutes away currently shouting angrily at a certain equally angry merchant.

"So what do you think of him, Emm?" Chrom asked.

The exalt however simply shook her head. "It's hard to say, brother. I can't make an accurate judgement of his character when I only just met him, but you say you trust him. And you believe in his character highly enough to immediately make him the tactician of the Shepherds. If you think that's the right decision, then I'll stand with you."

"Funny that the leader of this great realm is telling her young brother that she'll stand with him." Chrom said embarrassed. "I'm supposed to be saying that to you after all."

Emmeryn laughed quietly and after a moment, she asked him seriously, "Why are you asking me this about Robin though? You've clearly made up your mind about him and despite the short time that you've known him for, it's also obvious that you trust him."

"Aww, c'mon, sis." Chrom said. "Don't make me spell it out." There was a pause, then the blue haired prince sighed and elaborated on his thoughts. "We're blessed to have so a country that looks up to you as its Exalt, Emm. But like any other country, there aren't any shortages of people within the ranks of Ylisse's noble families that would question every decision that we as the ruling family make. So when word spreads that I've brought this stranger of unknown origins to the capital and appointed him as what's essentially the leader of our elite force, what do you think is going to be said?"

Emmeryn was silent and she gestured for her brother to continue.

"They wouldn't dare try to question you, Emm." Chrom said. "They're at least intelligent enough not to question your judgement on a certain decision you may decide to make. So if you made some sort of proclamation that Robin is deserving of Ylisse's trust, just like you are, then—"

The exalt however, was already shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Chrom. That's something I simply cannot do."

"But why not? Doesn't it make sense to—"

"You misunderstand me, brother." said Emmeryn. "I'm not denying your request because of any distrust of Robin. Far from it. What you say makes sense for the most part, but there is one glaring flaw in that plan. And that's the ideal that it represents. If I named Robin to be a hero of Ylisse worthy of respect without our people having seen him doing anything, then he doesn't have any credibility." She looked into Chrom's blue eyes and smiled. "However, if Robin does prove himself to be a hero, then the last thing he'll need is me singing his praises. Our people will trust him, just as you and I have."

"You're right… As always." Chrom said. But this last part was said somewhat jokingly and to add to this, he said, "But what else can I expect from Ylisse's 'oh so wise and mighty' ruler?"

Emmeryn laughed quietly at this and pushed her younger brother gently. "I'm not just the ruler you know, I'm also you and Lissa's big sister." Now looking slightly more serious, she said, "And I'll always be a sister to you and Lissa first before being a ruler to you."

Chrom nodded quietly and there was silence for a minute. Then he stepped forward and gave his older sibling a hug. She returned it. "Even as children, you were better at keeping us good better than father ever was."

"Let's not think on the past." Emmeryn replied. "What matters now is only what lies forward."

. . .

Robin was extremely surprised that by the end of his transaction, he had been able to get the tomes he wanted for almost the price he would have expected it around. He and Anna had been viciously negotiating with each other, but by the time the price had been agreed upon, she instantly was beaming again.

"That was fun!" She said happily. "I haven't had a smart one like you for a while! Most of the time people either scorn off or just blindly accept my high price!"

"So this was… a test in a way?" Robin asked puzzled.

"Yup!" Anna said. "And you aced it! Now, I'll be sure to remember you, if you need any more of those tomes or even feel in the mood to pick up something else, you know where to go now, right?"

Robin couldn't help but smile at the seemingly endless source of cheeriness from the merchant. This was a far cry from the angry woman he had been arguing with and figured that was simply part of her selling style. Waving goodbye and carrying his new tomes in his coat, he began to make his way back to the Ylisse palace.


	8. Chapter 2: Shepherds (cont)

**Hello my friends! This installment will conclude this part of the story! I will mention too by the way, that things have gotten busy x.x I will of course try to upload as quickly as I can, but being a junior in college is hard stuff man. And I don't like the feeling of having to rush out uploads for you all! So with that being said, I apologize if stuff doesn't come out on as regular a basis as it has been, but you should expect the writing to improve drastically! Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoy!**

 **Chapter 2: Shepherds (cont)**

 **On the Road to Regna Ferox**

It seemed to be hours, but the Shepherds finally reached the outermost border of Ylisse. The rather tattered sign by the road was evident of this as it showed an arrow pointing back towards Ylisstol and another arrow pointing forward along the road that indicated that it was the way to Regna Ferox.

It was then that Chrom ordered a halt to the march and turned back to face his companions. "Is everyone ready?" He asked, "We've a long ways to go."

Just then, Robin heard a voice shout from further down the path where Ylisstol lay behind them. The voice sounded rather urgent and it called out, "W-wait for me!"

The tactician turned to the source and was rather surprised to see a somewhat tall man clad in green armor making his way up to the main party, spurring his horse on and the animal was responding enthusiastically. As he approached, he happened to skid to a halt right next to Sully who was also atop her horse as well and she gave him a good natured punch to the arm.

"Well, I'll be damned, I didn't expect to see you here with us, Stahl." She said. "I thought you either slept in, or ate so much last night that you couldn't even mount your horse!"

Her fellow cavalier however shook his head at both of these. "I would have been prepared if I knew that there was a mission that I needed to prepare for in the first place!"

He groaned in anguish and lamented, "Why am I the last to hear about this expedition to Ferox?"

Lissa tilted her head in a puzzled expression and looking at Vaike (who happened to be standing next to her), she said, "Huh? Vaike was supposed to—" Then her expression cleared and it quickly turned to immediate annoyance. "Vaike! Did you forget to tell Stahl about our mission?"

The huge warrior laughed with heavy bravado and replied (rather nervously it must be said), "The Vaike never forgets!... I just don't always remember, is all…"

"Ugh!" Lissa said exasperatedly. "I swear, you'd forget your own name if you weren't constantly saying it yourself!"

"I tried telling him." Another voice said.

Again, Robin had that same uneasy feeling he had before, back in the Shepherd's barracks, he had heard a voice to which he could not identify its owner. That same voice talked again but like before, he could not find the source. "Am I just going insane now?" The tactician asked himself quietly. Shrugging, he decided that now wasn't the time to worry about such things. He was snapped back to reality by Lissa continuing to chide Vaike.

"Speaking of which, are you SURE you remembered your axe this time?"

Vaike bristled defensively and said, "Hey! That was one time!... Okay, twice, but training sessions don't count!" He gestured to the axe shoved through the loop in his combat belt, "Anyway, I got it right here. Teach is loaded and ready for action!" Then slapping the thigh of the Viridian knight, he smiled broadened and he said genuinely, "Glad to have you along, Stahl, ol' buddy."

Stahl on the other hand, was not as optimistic. "That makes one of us. I was in such a hurry, I had to miss breakfast! There were muffins, and cakes, and… Well, I can tell you about it while we march…" He finished this last part rather sadly.

Robin looked to the path ahead to Regna Ferox and suddenly felt a sense of foreboding. He wasn't sure where it was coming from, but he was certainly glad that they had another capable warrior joining their ranks. To the green clad cavalier, he asked, "Your name is Stahl, right?"

Chrom smiled up at his comrade and said to Robin, "Oh, I'm sorry, Robin. This is Stahl, one of our finest. Maybe not as skilled with a lance as Sully is, but he is certainly so with a sword."

"You still can wield a lance though?" Robin asked.

"Yes, of course." Stahl replied. "I just have a preference towards a sword is all." He dismounted his horse and approached the white haired man with an outstretched hand and a friendly smile. "Hello, Robin. Miriel told me we had a new Shepherd."

He saw the question already forming on the other man's lips and quickly added, "Er, Miriel's one of our mages. She should catch up soon."

"Good to know that we have more accomplished fighters than I primarily thought." Robin said as he shook the offered hand. "Where we're going, we're going to need it."

…

The party continued their march along the trail which would eventually lead to the warrior realm, Regna Ferox. For the most part, their march had been unremarkable. They kept up a decent enough pace, going only during the hours of daylight and when they camped down for the night, they were sure to organize night watch rosters that rotated among everyone in their party.

It wasn't until about three days after they left the capital that Robin was suddenly awoken from his deep slumber.

"Robin! Get up!" A voice shouted.

"Hmph? What is it?" The former replied groggily.

"We've got trouble." It was Frederick. "Everyone else is being assembled as well, we may have a fight on our hands."

Robin immediately scrambled out of his sleeping mat and quickly donned his coat, sword and tomes as he bolted out of his tent flap to see his other comrades doing the same. Sounds of metal on metal were made as armor fastenings were made, belts tightened, weapons sharpened for that finely honed edge and he saw Chrom looking off into the distance where he could see a large river and a rather narrow river going across from it. His heart sunk when he saw the monsters that they had fought after leaving Southtown.

"Gods," Chrom swore, "have the Risen spread this far?"

Robin was puzzled at this new term and he asked, " 'Risen'?"

Frederick however answered this one. "We needed a name for this new threat, so the council gave them one."

Chrom drew his sword and called back to them all, "Everyone, remember what we're up against! These are no ordinary foes, cut them down without mercy!"

Vaike grinned fiercely. "Mya ha! They'll remember ME once I drive my axe into their rotten looking behinds!"

Robin heard a familiar "thrum!" sound and heard a high pitched whizzing noise. His alarms started ringing and immediately tackled the axeman to the ground.

As he did this, an arrow whizzed overhead, just where Vaike had been standing. Had he still been there, the projectile would have gone straight into his forehead.

Vaike gulped as he saw what would have become of him and was about to utter a word of thanks to his savior, but Robin had already gotten back up and was barking orders.

"Virion! Return fire at that archer! Show that damn Risen who really puts the 'arch' in 'archer'!"

"I shall do just that, good sir!" And their own archer sent an arrow flying back towards the Risen.

There was a groan of pain as Virion's shot found its mark perfectly.

"Alright! Frederick, Stahl, Sully! Take the point, use those shields so we can push up on those archers! Once they're taken care of, remount and knock down those other Risen! We can handle the other stragglers!" Gesturing to Virion again, he called, "Virion, you're our only archer, but try keeping theirs in check!" Robin drew his sword and shouted, "Alright, everyone! Let's get to it!"

Frederick, and his other two compatriots raised their shields and slowly started to advance on the Risen as arrows clattered harmlessly off them. The rest of the Shepherds hiding behind their mobile cover, and Robin and Virion firing off their arrows and spells whenever they had the opportunity to. Progress was slow, as to be expected, but at least they were protected from the arrow and projectile fire of the Risen.

Lissa was keeping everyone healed from the very minor injuries coming their way of course, but this was usually nothing more than a slight bruise from a particularly forceful arrow to their frontliners.

As Robin peeked over the wall of shields once again, he saw something that made his stomach drop. Instead of archers standing in their way, he instead saw Risen holding books. Or rather, holding tomes. A line of them were about to conjure their magic and everyone, behind the shield was unable to see this. Panicking, he fire off a bolt of elthunder which caught one of the Risen mages, but there were still at least five or six more of them aiming at them.

"Everyone, scatter!" He shouted, "Those spells are going to cook us alive, scatter!"

Frederick, Sully, and Stahl in front of him were now extremely alarmed by this as they realized that they had been marching forward blindly and they knew their defenses would not be useful against spells, while everyone standing behind them knew that without their barriers, they would be open to other attacks as well.

Just then, a huge gulf of flame caught the Risen mages and they all let out their eerie moans as they were now the ones burning to a crisp. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and as the smoke cleared, Robin saw that their immediate threat had been dealt with. But alarm rang again as this time, three Risen archers were raising their bows, but then a cool blue light shone to form a defensive circle around them which caught the arrows and made them fall to the ground harmlessly.

Robin had no idea how events suddenly turned this way, but they were safe for the time being and had an opening. Another bolt of elthunder left his hands as Virion loosed another arrow. The two streaking missiles of light and wood and steel found their marks and they dropped the offending Risen archers.

"Splendid! It seems I've caught up. Now to extirpate these brutes."

Robin turned and saw a woman with unnaturally neat, short red hair. She wore a large mage's hat and carried a huge tome which was still smoking slightly in between the pages.

"Miriel!" Chrom shouted. "By the gods, you could not have picked a better time to arrive!"

The mage ignored this and looked around. "I say, I did not expect to find you all in such a dire state. Who is leading this offensive?"

Robin lowered his face, shamefaced. "That would be me."

"Hmm… Most disappointing." Miriel said simply.

Chrom however, immediately jumped to his friend's defense. "Miriel! That's not fair, you're speaking out of line!"

"Am I?" The mage asked. "You told us all about how Robin led you, Lissa, and Frederick out of danger and led you in battle efficiently. You appointed him as our tactician and now that I've seen what he's done, I'm not sure if I agree with that decision."

Chrom was about to speak up, but Robin put a hand on his shoulder and shook his head. To Miriel, he said ashamedly, "I know. That was careless of me to not know that the Risen could know magic as well. I'd never seen any examples of any until now. But it is something that I will always account for in the future and that mistake will never be made again."

"I should hope not." Miriel said harshly. Then her expression softened and she added, "But it does look like all their archers and mages are taken care of, so it should be rather straightforward on how we deal with these vagabonds now. To where do you wish me to be?"

Robin saw what the mage had done and appreciated it, "Stay back with Virion, try to cover any of those things that may try to get a jump on him and try to keep picking off those Risen whenever you see an opportunity for you to do so."

"I find this plan agreeable." Miriel said simply and as she said this, she shot a ball of flame from her hand that caught a Risen that was about to stand up. The horrible thing fell to the ground with a groan and disappeared into that puff of purple smoke.

This continued on for some time until, after Chrom let out a mighty roar and cut his Risen opponent in two, that they had dispatched them all in the area. "Finally, and good riddance!" The prince had said as he sheathed his weapon. Turning to his tactician, he asked, "How did we do, Robin?"

"Hmm? What?" Robin replied distractedly.

Chrom looked at his friend more carefully and saw the shaken look in his eyes. "Hey, it's not your fault alright?"

"No, Chrom. It is." Robin said fiercely. "You appointed me as the tactician. As the leader of the Shepherds in battle. It's my responsibility to make sure that we get through each battle safely and I failed with that. If it hadn't been for Miriel, we all could have seriously gotten hurt if not killed."

Robin shook his head at the thought. "I need to improve. I can't let that happen again."

Chrom could see that the tactician was clearly torn after this battle and decided to give him credit where credit was due. He nodded simply and put a hand on his shoulder. "The point is, you still got us through today. And I trust that you'll continue to do so in our future battles too."

"One can only hope." Robin said grimly.


	9. Chapter 3: Warrior Realm

**Author's Note/Life Update!**

 **Hello all you beautiful people! Yes, yes, it has been a while I know, this chapter has been long overdue, BUT I will say, I'm much prouder with this chapter than I have been with my previous couple installments. However, I will not deny that there are some things that have been keeping me very busy this past month! In addition, here's some notes for my story after the life update if you're just interested in that, or if you just finally want to continue, you can skip this altogether! So here we go**

 **1.1 Life as a college junior**

 **-I'm perpetually busy. I always have assignments that I need to complete and with me trying to graduate on time next year, everything has been piling on. Plus the fact that my midterms were upon me during the season of which I was gone.**

 **-I may uhh. I may have gotten a switch. And I may have played Breath of the Wild. And I may have had no desire to do anything but play Breath of the Wild since that game came out. But hey, that's just speculation, you don't know if that actually happened.**

 **1.2 My writing and this story.**

 **-A reminder, this story is about Robin and Chrom (plus an unknown third who will show up very soon ;)**

 **-It will be to my discretion which characters I will include more into the central plot of the story. However, if there is a character you'd like to see more of that's not getting enough love, then for sure tell me!**

 **-When you read on this chapter, it will be clear that I changed something about this chapter that didn't happen in the game. That's because in the context of the game, I feel that it didn't make too much sense to translate that to a story context. Please understand that this may happen for other things that wouldn't make too much sense story wise.**

 **-As always, keep sending me feedback about my writing style, pacing and anything you might have to say!**

 **Chapter 3: The Warrior Realm**

 **The Northroad**

It was about late evening. The Shepherds had eaten their dinner for the night and the majority of them were sitting around the communal campfire, laughing, telling jokes to each other, having other serious conversations (at least when it came to Miriel, or flirting (in the case of Virion).

Robin however, was in his own tent where he was pouring over notes that he had written down after their previous battle. He had taken note of all the maneuvers done during the battle and tried to make accurate judgements as to what worked, and what did not.

He would have done this anyway, regardless of how well/poorly the previous battle went, but after Miriel's scathing (albeit true) comments about his carelessness, Robin set himself determinedly to his books that he had purchased about strategy. Finally, after several hours, Robin closed the heavy book he had been reading and put his head in his hands, feeling suddenly very tired.

The tactician could still hear the rest of the group outside still talking, but for some reason, it felt very late in the evening. Before he could stop himself, he drifted off to sleep, still in his sitting position in the tent.

Meanwhile, Lissa had just laughed at Sully's latest attack on Virion after the archer had once again, tried to woo her unsuccessfully, before she noticed that Robin wasn't sitting with the rest of him. She stood up and asked Chrom, "Is Robin still in his tent?"

Her brother nodded somewhat gravely and replied, "The last battle shook him up pretty bad, give him some time."

Lissa however, crossed her arms stubbornly and said, "No, he needs his friends right now, not sitting in his tent cooped up and blaming himself for something stupid!"

"He doesn't think of it that way." Chrom said fairly. "And if you think about it, I don't blame him. He has all of our lives to keep in mind whenever we go into battle. Yours too, Lissa."

Lissa uncrossed her arms and with a slightly more uncomfortable expression, said softly, "Yeah… but that still doesn't mean that he should be spending all his time by himself."

Her brother sighed, then smiling slightly, said, "You know what, you might be right. After all, if anyone can brighten up someone else's day, it's you Lissa."

The princess smile cheerfully and mock curtseyed. "Wow, Chrom! I don't think I've ever heard you say something so positive about me! Usually you're just calling me delicate!"

The blue haired prince laughed heartily at this, which set Lissa's face into a pout again as he chuckled, "That's because you are!"

The young blonde, unsure of how to reply to this, simply turned her back haughtily on her still laughing brother, said loudly, "Hmph!" And began to march off to Robin's tent. She walked for a short distance, then after reaching where she knew his tent was, said in a very sing songy kind of way, "Rooooooobin, where aaare yooou?"

In response, she only heard the sounds of some very light breathing.

She entered the tent, and said, "There you are! I was just… Oh! You're sleeping…?"

As in direct correlation, Robin let out some other noises as he went further into the realm of sleep.

Lissa sighed, and said more to herself than to him, "You must really be wiped out. Not that I blame you, getting wrapped up in all this." Then, a mischievous grin started to spread and she whispered, "Hee hee! Looks like it's time to quiiietly… geeently… hold your nose!"

Robin suddenly found that he couldn't breath and his eyes shot open. "Nh… gnnkh… nnrrrrgh…! BWARGH! Wha—?! Risen! Wolves! Risen riding wolves!" He scanned the tent quickly to grab his sword and he called out, "They're… all… Wait a moment…" While he'd been looking for his weapon, he instead saw Lissa sitting in front of him laughing hysterically.

" 'BWARGH'?! Oh gods, that was HILARIOUS!" And she began to laugh in a very unprincess-like manner once again.

Robin sighed, then somewhat annoyed, said, "Lissa, gods bless it… I was fast asleep!"

But Lissa however, paid no heed to the former's expression and asked, "And dreaming of Risen and wolves, apparently?" Before this comment proceeded to make her start to titter again. "I'm sorry. I tried to resist—I really did. But it was just too perfect!"

"Who does such things?" Robin asked, still annoyed at how his slumber had been disturbed. "Is that really how your parents raised you?!"

Lissa's face suddenly became very sad and she stammered, "...I… I don't know… I never really knew my parents…"

Robin felt very abashed at himself and felt that he may have spoken out of line there. "Oh… Oh right. That was… Er…" He couldn't quite think of a reply that would make up for that tactless question.

Lissa however, simply resumed her usual cheerful smile and said, "Oh, don't worry about it. I know you didn't mean anything by it. And actually, there's something else that I should be apologizing for…"

"What it is," Robin began, "I'm sure I can forget it if you can forgive my heartless comment…"

Really? That's great!" Lissa chimed. "Oh, I was SO sure you were going to be SO angry… See, I was kinda doodling a pic of you in your big, new book of battle strategies… Aaand then I kinda spilled the ink and kinda… ruined the book, kinda… completely."

"WHAT?!" Robin yelled. "But that was a rare text! I had just started to—" Then he paused and looked at the book next to him. It had been the one that he had just been reading. "Oh. You're pulling my leg."

"Come sit with us, Robin!" Lissa pleaded. "Don't be stuffed in this lonely tent all by yourself now! If you don't, I really WILL spill ink all over that book of yours."

The tactician smiled. "Well when you put it that way, what choice do I have?"

. . .

The weather was changing. While it was still sunny and relatively warm out, The Shepherds could definitely feel the temperature beginning to drop as they began to get closer and closer to Regna Ferox. From here on, it was a relatively clear cut path to the warrior realm. That was until they encountered the winged beast.

"Hmm… Well, what do we have here?" Robin said thoughtfully.

Chrom, Lissa and himself all walked forward to observe and the princess asked, "Hey, is that what I think it is?"

The trio walked forward closer to look at the pegasus which appeared to only just be standing in place. And Chrom, in response to his sister said, "It's a pegasus, all right. I think it's hurt. Let's just have a look here…" He stooped over closer to the animal to try to see if there were any visible wounds or injuries present.

As he did this however, the pegasus immediately reared its legs and neighed violently, forcing Chrom to jump backwards rather hastily. "WHOA!" He shouted. "Down, girl! Easy there!"

Unnoticed by any of them, a voice called, "Captain, one moment!"

Robin turned around and saw the young woman, Sumia walking up to them and by extension, the pegasus. He remembered her as being rather… clumsy. Gulping nervously, thoughts ran through the tactician's head that putting Sumia near the bucking pegasus was probably not the best idea.

Almost as if fate itself had demanded it, Sumia fell. Face first yet again as she came forward to meet them and Robin slapped a palm to his face.

Chrom however, was slightly more sympathetic and he said in alarm, "Sumia! Are you alright? … Those boots of yours again?"

As the poor woman picked herself off the ground and began dusting off her armor and tunic, she said in a flustered tone, "No! I mean, yes! I mean…" And she sighed heavily.

The prince however, seemed to have the same idea as Robin as far as Sumia's safety and the pegasus were concerned because, after shaking his head, he replied vehemently, "Well, come no closer. This beast is crazed!"

Sumia however, continued to walk forward and said, "It's okay, Captain. I can handle this…" And to Robin and Chrom's amazement, she was able to walk forward to the pegasus and started gently patting it and saying soothingly, "Shh… Easy now, girl. I won't hurt you."

"How did she calm it so quickly?" Robin asked in wonder.

Lissa however, was delighted and she said, "That's incredible, Sumia!"

Chrom added his voice to the mix by saying, "I've never seen anything like it."

The young woman flushed at the praise and with a little smile, said to all of them, "Oh, it's… it's nothing really. I just have a way with animals, I guess."

Chrom chuckled. "I should say so!"

"You all go on ahead." Sumia said. "I'll dress her wounds and catch up as soon as we're able. They don't look all that serious though so I don't think we'll be long."

"Are you sure?" Robin asked her. "We can wait up for you. I'd be loathe to leave you without at least a couple people to watch your back."

"I'll be ok." Sumia smiled. "After all, I don't carry this lance around for nothing."

"Fair enough." Robin nodded. "Just be safe ok?"

The young woman saluted cheerfully and said, "Whatever you say, sir!"

Robin laughed. "We'll be looking for you when we get to Regna."

As Chrom, Lissa, and himself began to walk away, they all heard Sumia crooning over the pegasus some more and heard her say, "What should I call you… I think I'll call you Larinthe!"

"Huh." Robin said, more to himself than anyone else.

"What is it?" Chrom asked.

Robin started slightly, surprised that his friend had responded to his sound. "Oh, I was just surprised by the fact that even though she appears to be terribly clumsy, that she has such a way with animals like that!"

"Ha!" Chrom chuckled easily. "Don't be fooled by Sumia's clumsiness, Robin. She is every bit capable as you or I. Few in Ylisse can match her beauty as well."

The tactician suddenly smirked very widely and he asked in a mocking tone, "My my, Chrom! What does beauty have to do with combat prowess, or ableness?"

A man who did not harbor feelings for Sumia might have responded something along the lines of that the comment was nothing more than a throwaway compliment that appreciated her beauty. This was not at all how the warrior prince responded.

His face turned bright red and he stammered, "W-well look here, Robin! I do not have any feelings of affection towards Sumia! Noooooone at all!"

Robin's grin turned more sinister in nature and he pointed out, "When did I say that? I'm pretty sure all I asked was how beauty relates to fighting capabilities."

Chrom began turning pale this time as he realized his friend was right, Lissa was perfect on her timing as she began to sing a common children's jingle of her brother and Sumia sitting on a tree.

"Gods… And Regna Ferox is still a ways." Chrom groaned in despair as Robin and Lissa howled in laughter."

. . .

 **The Longfort**

It was definitely colder now. This was largely evident by the snow on the ground, and the same small icicles coming down at them viciously through the air. The Shepherds could see their breath ghosting out through their mouths as further evidence of the temperature drop. Luckily, they had their destination in sight. The Longfort, an appropriately named fortress that separated the borders from between Regna Ferox and Ylisse.

"Brrr! F-Frebberick!" Lissa said with her teeth chattering, "I'm f-f-freebing!"

Frederick, (who for some reason still looked completely at ease) simply smiled and motioned his horse to stand in front of the princess. "Stand beside my horse, milady. She'll shelter you from the wind."

Robin, who had his coat bundled tightly around him and the hood up, asked, "So this is the fortress?"

"Yes, the Longfort." Chrom answered. He wore his usual attire, but in addition to his armor and shoulder pad, he wore a thick knee length coat underneath his armor to keep his normally bare arm covered from the cold. The prince pointed down the length of the fort's wall and said, "It stretches along the border of Ylisse and Regna Ferox."

"The khans that rule Ferox have grown quite wary of foreigners." said Frederick. "Still, don't mistake a lack of hospitality for open hostility. This simply calls for a bit of diplomacy."

Chrom sighed at the word and said, "Negotiation's not my strong suit, but I'll do my best." Looking back to the rest of the party, he also added, "Remember, everyone: Your actions here reflect back upon Ylisse."

"Trouble in the wind, milord: the Feroxi Guard are mobilizing." Frederick said in alarm.

"What on earth?! Why?" Chrom said, also just as shocked.

Frederick however, shrugged. "Who can say? But they look ready to let fly at a moment's notice."

Robin looked up at the large intimidating walls of the fortress and figured that such a place would definitely house an equally large garrison. "If they're preparing for combat, we can't fight that many. We'd be crushed."

"We'd better prepare for combat, just to be safe." Frederick said. "Loathe as I am to trust him, Robin might offer some valuable insight in this…"

"Indeed." said Chrom. "He IS our tactician, after all. So, Robin? What do you suggest?"

Robin shook his head, "We can't do open combat with the Feroxi. Any archers they have on the wall would have us pinned down here by the gate. We need to negotiate."

Chrom grimaced. "I figured that, even a brilliant tactician can't make a party of less than nine take an entire fortress."

"Make that ten." A voice from somewhere said.

Robin had finally had enough. "Ok!" He called loudly. "I can't be the only one hearing that voice!"

"I'm standing in plain sight, sir. Right he—"

Robin and Chrom both shouted in panic as they caught sight of the hugely armored man standing just a few feet from there.

"Oh! I-is that you, Kellam?" Chrom asked. "When did you arrive?"

Kellam, as Robin now knew he was called, paused and said, "... The same as you. I've been with you all this time. Er, I AM still a Shepherd, right? It's quite the honor, after all. I'd hate to lose it. Sometimes I—"

Meanwhile, Robin was pacing and shaking his head. Wondering how in all the names of the gods that such a huge man could possibly be with them since leaving the capitol and not being noticed.

"Of course, Kellam. Forgive me. You're just so… quiet, I completely—" Chrom began.

Kellam however, interrupted him and said, "Quite all, sir, quite all right. I've been told I'm easy to miss."

Poor Robin was ready to tear his hair out at this and he wanted to scream out loud just how could anyone find a large man in a huge, loud suit of armor, "easy to miss"?

"At least the Feroxi didn't find you." Chrom said sternly.

"I've been calling to you and waving my arms for several minutes…" Kellam said and at this point, Robin just gave up. "I don't think they've so much as glanced this way."

"You almost sound disappointed." Chrom pointed out.

"Well, I just… I'm glad you finally saw me! Just try to keep an eye out from now on?" To the tactician, he added, "It's very nice to see you again by the way, Robin."

The latter just nodded vaguely and replied something similar along the lines.

However, the chatter had to be cut short as a heavily built woman wearing armor stood atop the center of the wall and shouted down, "Halt! Who goes there?!"

Chrom breathed steadily in and out, then he looked up at the top and projected his voice in a loud, clear, and carrying tone, "In the name of House Ylisse, I seek audience with the khans!"

"Not another step, my bold lad! I've lancers and archers at the ready!" The Feroxi captain shouted back.

"Hold, milady!" Frederick intervened. "We are not your enemy! Exalt Emmeryn herself sent us to discuss matters of mutual interest."

The captain however, was having none of it and she said defiantly, "My only interest is keeping you out of Regna Ferox, brigand!"

Frederick was visibly taken aback. "B-brigand? Now see here—" But the Feroxi leader cut him off.

"You think you are the first 'Ylisseans' to try and cross our border? I have the authority to fell such imposters where they stand."

Robin heard the obvious lean on the word "Ylisseans" and thought that there was much more going on here than any of them knew about. But for now, he stayed silent as he tried to work out a plan.

Frederick puffed his chest out and shouted angrily, "How dare you! You are in the presence of Prince Chrom, the exalt's own blood!"

The captain scoffed sarcastically and replied, "Ha! Yes, indeed— and I'm Raimi the empress of Valm!" She drew her sword and pointed it visibly at Chrom. "You do realize impersonating royalty is a capital offense, yes?" The archers around her raised their weapons and she shouted, "If you want to prove your claim to be the Prince of Ylisse, then prove it on the battlefield!"

"Rgh…" Chrom groaned in frustration. "Emmeryn won't like this at all…" Then to Raimi, he implored her, "Please, good lady! If you'd just listen—"

"I've heard quite enough! Attack!" The Feroxi captain shouted and the bows were brought up.

Robin was suddenly in a panic. There were a lot of archers on the wall as he noticed earlier, but they weren't pointing at all of the party, they were all directed towards Chrom. The tactician was halfway through leaping off his feet to try to tackle his friend towards safety but something else beat him to the punch.

A loud whinny and the rustling of feathers was the first clue and Robin looked up to see… Sumia!

Chrom, who had braced himself for the pain of the arrows impact, opened his eyes and saw that he was riding on the back of a pegasus and saw the rider was… "Sumia?"

The young woman didn't have her usual airy, clumsy look about her. Her eyes were fierce and her gaze was as hard as steel as she said, "Better hold on tight, captain. Could get bumpy." And she steered the pegasus off in a direction going back to the ground.

"Uhh, right." Chrom replied, still amazed at the skill that she had demonstrated to scoop him off the ground and onto her pegasus that way.

Sumia turned back to face him and that look from earlier gave way to the warm smile that Chrom was used to seeing from her and she said with a small laugh, "You'll be fine."

The prince's eyes widened for a moment as he suddenly realized he was at a loss for words after seeing the familiar expression. He was suddenly brought back to reality by the archers on the wall readying themselves again and he shouted, "Sumia!"

The pegasus rider however, was already on it and she acknowledged the call, "Right!"

Robin saw the archers pointed up at the duo in the sky. He whipped out the new wind tome he had been carrying and after flipping through the pages, cast the spell. A blade of physical green wind went spinning out of his hand and split the arrow shafts through the middle before they could leave their bows which let Sumia and also Chrom back down to the ground safely.

As they dismounted, Sumia said, "Oh, Captain. I'm so relieved I made it in time."

Chrom looked down at the ground where the javelins and arrows would have surely pierced them and said with heart, "That goes double for me, Sumia!" He glanced at her steed and asked, "And this—is this the same ornery pegasus we met on the road?!"

Sumia beamed with pride. "Oh, she's a sweetheart, isn't she?... Once you really get to know her…"

Lissa patted the mane of the animal and said amusingly, "I think the pegasus is blushing!"

Robin and Frederick both said at the same time, "And I think we had all best focus on the situation at hand!"

The two men looked at each other slightly in surprise that they had mirrored each other's words and Robin said quietly, "We can't fight them head on. We need to figure something out."

"Agreed." Frederick said. "So what do we do?"

An idea sprung to Robin's head. Looking back up to the wall, he shouted, "Captain Raimi! There's no reason for you to attack our forces when we have no desire to fight you! If you wish us to test the legitimacy of Chrom's claim of being Ylisse's prince the Feroxi way, then let us do it in single combat! Appoint a champion and we shall do the same!"

Silence from the wall.

"I have every reason to simply shoot you here and now!" Raimi shouted back coldly. "Why should I listen to anything you say?"

"Because, Captain Raimi," Robin began, "I know you are an honorable woman! And I also know just as well as we do that we are no brigands! If your champion defeats ours, then we will leave with no struggle."

More silence from the wall.

"Alright." Raimi said. "We do this on one condition."

"Name it!" Robin called back.

"I get to pick who I fight!" The Feroxi captain shouted in reply. "And I challenge the imposter you claim to be Prince Chrom!"

Frederick immediately tensed up and said quietly, but still fiercely to Robin, "We can't let her do this."

Robin, who had somewhat expected Raimi to aim the challenge at his friend, simply shrugged. "It's up to Chrom, Frederick." He faced the blue haired prince and said, "You are the one being challenged. If you don't want to fight her, I'm sure I can think of something else to try to please the Feroxis."

Chrom however, shook his head. "I think a diplomatic solution is out of the question at this point. From what I know of the warriors of Regna Ferox, once their fighting blood has been stirred, they can't be snapped out of it unless they either win in a fight, or die trying."

The prince now looked up back to the wall where the challenge had been issued and shouted back, "Captain Raimi, I accept your challenge! And I hope that through our duel, you will see the truth!"

"The truth will come out when I beat you to the ground!" Raimi replied fiercely.

About ten minutes later, the gates to the massive fort opened up and the Ylissean party saw the Feroxi captain all armored up and carrying a small buckler in addition to a simple, but still deadly looking sword at her waist. Flanking her, were numbers of armed infantry who quickly spread out around their commander after they had exited the fortress.

The gates closed with a mighty crash and Raimi and the Feroxi troops looked at the Ylissean party who in turn, looked right back at the former. "Step forward, _Prince Chrom._ " Raimi said to the blue haired warrior.

Frederick was about to growl something about tone and respect, but his liege put an arm around him and shook his head. Stepping forward a few paces, he faced the fierce woman in front of him and drew his sword.

Robin had always wondered what was so special about his friend's sword, Falchion, but he had never gotten the chance to ask him. He would have to do that at some point in the future… Assuming that he didn't die right here from this duel. The tactician had intentionally left any mention of a duel to the death when talking to Raimi, however, now that he saw the fired up woman up close, he was unsure whether she knew that or not. Because her eyes had a light in them which looked ready to kill.

The Feroxi captain however, was more level headed than Robin gave her credit for. As Chrom stepped forward to wait for his opponent, she could see him much better at this distance than atop the walls, and her doubt began to seep in. The Brigands who had been masquerading as the Prince had passable arms and armor for sure, but she could see crucial things that she now cursed herself for not noticing before. For one, the Brand of the Exalt on Chrom's arm. She knew that the royalty of Ylisse had this mark somewhere on their bodies and that the symbol was notably missing from the man who had impersonated him.

In addition to this, after Chrom had drawn his sword, Raimi had also noticed that it was indeed the legendary sword, Falchion. She knew what this was of course, everyone knew of the Hero-King Marth's sword that had slain the Shadow Dragon Medeus in what seemed like millennia ago. But the sword had been passed on through the ages and she knew that it now rested as a treasured relic of the Ylissean royalty. Attempts had been made of course to replicate the weapon but to no avail. It was truly a unique sword and the fact that Chrom held it, meant that his identity was true.

She mentally cursed herself again. She had made a mistake. But… how could she? Only a few weeks earlier, a masked swordsman calling himself Marth was granted access into Regna Ferox and he carried Falchion as well. And from what Raimi knew, he hadn't been causing trouble in the warrior realm.

The Feroxi captain growled in frustration and anger and then drew her sword. The weapon flew clear of the scabbard with a ring of steel on metal and wood. One of her attendants presented Raimi with her shield as well, but she shrugged it away vehemently.

Chrom could see that she was definitely aggravated. However, he could still tell that he was facing a seasoned fighter and a veteran of many combats. Her guard was still solid even without a shield and the prince himself, assumed his own ready stance.

The two warriors circled each other for a few moments, each assessing each other's readiness for battle and it was Chrom who decided to initiate.

He charged forward with great speed and aimed a wide cut towards Raimi's center, but the Feroxi captain reacted quickly and brought her own blade up to parry Chrom's. As the prince staggered from the impact of the parry, Raimi pushed him back and aimed a downward stroke which Chrom quickly blocked by striking the weapon out of the way.

Raimi then moved forward and thrust her sword, stamping her foot down as she did so and put the strength of her whole body behind the move. It was too fast for Chrom to attempt to parry or block, so he was forced to jump back from it and as he began to move forward, Raimi's sword spun around smoothly and transitioned to a side cut from the thrust.

The two traded blows for some time, each using momentum from each other's strikes to redirect the direction of their own to try to catch each other by surprise. However, both warriors were skilled enough that their defenses were never in danger.

Chrom spun his sword around gracefully and attempted a downward slash, but unlike his opponent's, this was merely a feint and as Raimi brought her sword to counter the move, Chrom quickly struck to the side. He did this by transferring the momentum from his previous strike, to a different direction.

Raimi was not ready for this and her eyes widened in surprise as she tried to hastily bring her guard stance back down to block the attack, but she was unsuccessful and Chrom's sword flew over her own and struck her in the armored torso. It was not a lethal hit by any means, but she had felt the power behind that slash and was knocked back with all the air escaping her lungs with an explosive, "Whoof!"

Raimi however, would not let this get her down and after putting one of her gauntleted hands on the blade of her sword, she swung the crossguard directly into Chrom's gut, and as he instinctively bent forward from the impact, she comboed this with a blow to his jaw with the pommel.

Luckily, the warrior's momentum from this was minimal, as it had been spent on her previous move so even though the blue haired prince got knocked back from this, he only had a moderate bruise and it wasn't the telling blow that the Feroxi captain had hoped for.

Robin winced noticeably after seeing this and for the moment, watched as his friend writhed on the ground, temporarily seeing nothing but bright light after being stunned by the pommel strike. Raimi was advancing upon Chrom's crumpled form and somewhere to his left, he could feel Frederick gripping his javelin tighter and tighter, knowing that the knight would be ready to let loose at any moment.

The tactician grimaced, he would have preferred if no one had to be killed from this exchange, and Frederick knew that too. But Chrom's retainer was also an honorable man and would not dare interrupt this duel after Raimi seemingly put herself in this situation.

As the Feroxi captain brought her sword up, Chrom, with the agility of a cat, rolled to the side to avoid the downwards thrust. The sword stabbed into the ground and there was chaos. The Ylissean party began to yell in protest that Raimi had clearly been about to execute Chrom when it had been clear that he had been bested. While the Feroxi soldiers on the other hand let out a loud cheer.

However, as the moment passed, everyone realized that the sword had simply stabbed into the snowy ground. Chrom meanwhile, was down, but definitely not beaten. He had rolled to Raimi's unprotected side and in one smooth motion, stood up on one knee, used his own armored hand to grab the blade of Falchion and swung it hard at his opponent's leg.

The prince had used all his strength to do this and there was no way it could have been stopped. The crossguard and pommel of Falchion struck Raimi's leg with so much force, that it caused her to topple over and lie flat on the ground as Chrom spun to his feet and aimed the blade of his sword down right to her throat.

It took several moments for the shouting to die down but when it did, there was only a stunned silence as they saw the image in front of them. Chrom was panting heavily and his adrenaline was in overdrive, that was to be expected of course, he had almost just been executed on the ground after all.

Finally, after what seemed like forever and through the prince's heavy breathing, he said simply but fiercely, "Yield."

There was a light in Raimi's eyes that might have said that she would have still put up a fight. Her hand clenched tightly around the sword that she was still holding, but even as she did so, her fingers relinquished their grip and she let her arm lay slack on the ground. "I yield," she said defeatedly, "Prince of Ylisse."

Chrom noted her tone and spinning his sword around and sheathing the weapon, he then offered her a helping hand.

The Feroxi captain paused for only a moment, then she grasped it and was hoisted to her feet. She looked ashamedly to her feet as the Ylissean party immediately began to fester her with accusations of attempting to murder their Prince, Frederick most loudly of all. Chrom and Robin however, were silent and waiting for Raimi's words.

She began to speak and the ruckus slowly died away. "A thousand apologies, Prince Chrom. I truly took you for brigand impostors. But no fraud could have ever waged a duel as you just have! I will send word of your arrival to the capital and escort you there personally."

Chrom waved the apology aside and in response to the latter part of her statement, said, "That would be most appreciated, thank you."

Raimi bowed her head and shouted towards her unit around her. "Back up the walls! And open the gate!"

Robin had observed how respectful that the warrior had been to his friend and remarked on this. "Amazing. Her whole demeanor changed after Chrom bested her."

"In Ferox, strength speaks louder than words." Frederick said. "I should have known better than to overestimate the value of diplomacy here…"

"Sooooo, can we get going, Chrom?" Lissa asked who was still shivering slightly.

Her brother nodded. "Yes, it's definitely not getting any warmer out here."

That being said, there was a massive boom as the chains and lock on the massive gate were undone and the entrance began to open very slowly. As an opening big enough to let them pass was made, the Ylisseans began to make their way through into Regna Ferox.

Robin sidled next to Chrom and nudged him with a grin. "So, did fighting that bear prepare you in any way for that beat down you received?"

Chrom sighed and rolled his eyes. "At least you didn't help me with this one, otherwise you might have come up with some other lunatic idea and actually killed me."

They glanced at each other and began to laugh heartily at their inside joke and private experience and battle with the fearsome foe.

Frederick appeared seemingly out of nowhere and said darkly, "Who said what about killing m'lord?"

Robin gulped nervously and replied, "Er, nothing, Frederick."

"Are you sure, Robin?" Chrom asked in a mock curious tone.

"Quite. Sure." The white haired man said firmly in a tone that said the topic was not to be discussed any further.

Sighing, the Prince said, "Well, we do still need a tactician I guess, so you can stick around a little longer."


	10. Chapter 4: Two Falchions

***Authors Note***

Hello everyone! Yes, I know it's been a while, but I had my finals so time has been nonexistent for me to write this. However! I did make this chapter nice and long and in one part so no having to wait! I really hope you enjoy this chapter, I don't really do anything too different here compared to the game other than just expand on some details, and I feel that I wrote something half-worth reading! So as always, I hope you enjoy reading, leave me some feedback and let me know how I'm doing and be sure to follow and favorite so you'll know first when I update! Whereever you are in the world, have a great day! And without further ado, here is the next installment in The Awakening!

 **Chapter 4: Two Falchions**

 **Castle Ferox**

Captain Raimi had made sure that she did everything possible to earn the trust from the Ylissean party after she had been bested in the duel with Chrom. She had not only personally escorted them through the Longfort into Regna Ferox through the rough country, she had also assigned her personal bodyguard to act as additional soldiers during the journey.

Robin had asked her if all the security was necessary and he earned a sharp look and a reply that said, "Ferox is an honorable country. But a tough one none the same. As I was explaining earlier, brigands have been making a nuisance and many have lost their lives travelling the roads and falling prey to them."

Pointing to some rugged homes and farms, she added, "Not every family here has the luxury to live near a garrison. While technically they are safe since they are within the walls of the country, the Plegians have been seriously taking a toll."

After their duel, Chrom had explained to Raimi that the same thing was happening in Ylisse. That they were experiencing increased aggravated attacks from Plegia and how many settlements that lay far from the protection of the capitol had been on the rough end of these attacks.

"We need to resolve this. To crush the Plegians too, if we must." Raimi commented.

Chrom however, had a more measured response. "Let's see if there isn't another way for us to deal with this first, Ylisse isn't ready for a war with Plegia. The last time that happened, my fath-" He paused, shook his head and corrected himself, "Ylisse's previous exalt sent the entire country in a downward spiral and put us in a place that I would do anything to not be in again."

Raimi had heard the obvious revision of his words, but was perceptive enough to know not to inquire about it and she simply said, "I'm sorry, Prince Chrom. I'm sure it was a painful time for you and your people."

Robin on the other hand, had to keep himself from asking himself. There was still so much he didn't know about his friend and was wondering why it seemed to be Emmeryn who was the parental figure to both Lissa and Chrom. And while the tactician had figured that the Prince's mother and father must have gone on, it seemed unusual that he never mentioned them. Especially his father.

They travelled for about a day before they finally got to the gates of Castle Ferox. Like the Longfort, this was not a pretty building. However, what it lacked in aesthetics, it more than made up for in functionality.

Robin whistled in admiration, "This sure seems to look like a tough nut to crack."

Raimi turned to him and smiled. "Half of the time, they don't even get through the Longfort, Castle Ferox hasn't been taken for centuries."

Chrom had asked for the rest of the party to be looked after and requested that Robin, Frederick, and Lissa be allowed to accompany him.

Raimi had of course agreed and made sure that her bodyguard were to attend to the needs of the Ylisseans and to treat them as honored guests while they would seek an audience with the Khan.

Finally arriving to the massive throne room, Raimi turned around and said, "Prince Chrom, please wait here while I summon the Khan."

Chrom nodded and replied, "Of course."

Raimi bowed very slightly and began to walk off.

The remaining three turned to face each other.

"The Khan is away?" Robin asked.

The Prince sighed. "Out training, I'd wager. The Khans of Ferox prefer battle to politics." Pausing, he amended his statement, "Rather, battle IS their politics."

"A warrior ruler, eh?" Robin said thoughtfully. "I can picture him now… A giant of a man of unparalleled thew, his broad chest covered in hair, and—"

The white haired man had been unable to complete his last thought because the voice of a woman (a very strong voice mind you) said loudly, "Am I now?... Please, do go on!"

Robin turned to face the source of the voice, as did everyone else and was shocked at what he saw.

A woman with dark, tanned skin who stood just shy of Chrom's height. She was wearing full armor with a longsword and distinctive patterned red shield to her back and had her sand colored hair pulled up. Her expression as well was one of amusement though they could see the evidence of battles and combats there as well.

It was Chrom who spoke first. "You're the—?! Er, that is to say…" He composed himself, cleared his throat and asked, "The khan, I presume?"

"One of them, yes—the East-Khan." The woman replied. "My name is Flavia. I do apologize for the troubles at the border, Prince Chrom." She spread her arms out and said, "You are welcome in Regna Ferox."

"Thank you, but I'm confident we can put that misunderstanding behind us." Chrom replied. "Is it true bandits posing as Ylisseans have been ransacking your border villages?"

"Yes. Those Plegian dogs!" Flavia said angrily. "We found documents proving as much on the corpse of one of their captains. Plegia must see some benefit in attempting to raise tensions between your kingdom and ours."

Chrom growled. "Damn them!" Then he realized that he was in the presence of Regna Ferox's monarch and apologized hastily, "I… Forgive me, Your Grace. That was… indelicately put."

Flavia however roared with laughter and added her own curses to the mix. "Ha! Damn them and damn delicacy! Here in Ferox, we appreciate plain speech."

"In that case, you should have a word with your damn border guards…" Chrom said.

At this point, Robin put an arm on the prince and said fairly, "Maybe turn it back a bit with the 'damn's', Chrom?"

Again however, the East-Khan simply laughed at loud again and slapped Chrom's other arm. "Ha ha! Now that's Feroxi diplomacy! Yes, I like you already."

Robin stepped back, head spinning and mouthed an aside to Frederick, "Uhh, are the Feroxis usually like this?"

"If rumor is to be believed," the knight responded cheerfully, "Yes. Once you prove your mettle, then they speak to you as if you are one of their own."

But as Flavia stopped her laughing, they turned their ear back to the conversation.

"I know why you have come, Prince. But regrettably, I cannot provide any Feroxi troops for Ylisse."

"What?! Why not?!" Lissa asked.

"I lack the authority." Flavia said simply.

"Forgive me," Chrom asked, "but I don't understand. Aren't you the Khan?"

"As I said, I am ONE of the Khans." Flavia answered. "In Ferox, the Khans of east and west hold a tournament every few years. The victor acquires total sovereignty over both kingdoms. And that means they have the final say when it comes to forging alliances." With a glint in her eye, she said, "The West-Khan won the last tournament, you see, and so…"

"So we are to receive no aid at all?" Chrom asked.

The East-Khan wagged a finger disapprovingly and said, "Not if you always give up so easily! The next tournament is nigh, you see, and I am in need of a champion."

"What does that have to do with us?" The prince replied cautiously.

"The captain of my border guard informs me that you are quite capable." Flavia said respectfully. "Perhaps you would consider representing the East in the upcoming tournament?" She smirked suddenly and said, "If you win and I become ruling Khan, I will grant your alliance."

"I would have assumed Ylisseans had no place in such Feroxi traditions." Robin asked this time. He had been following the conversation strictly and wanted to know as much about Ylisse's northern neighbor as much as possible.

"On the contrary, tactician!" Flavia answered. "The Khans themselves do not fight—they choose champions to represent them. Otherwise our land would be rife with blood feuds and dead Khans! We don't include comrades of kin for the same reason as well." Pointing to Robin and them Chrom, she added, "Over time, it was decided the tournament should be fought by outsiders." She smiled and said, "We've gotten many who represent us in these tournaments, but I think this is the first time that we might have someone who's foreign royalty fight in the tournament!" She became serious again and said, "Though of course, that is your choice to make."

"There is no choice, East-Khan. My people are desperate." Chrom said. "We face not only Plegia's constant attacks, but now the added threat of the Risen. If fighting for you is the quickest way to an alliance, then I will up my steel."

"Ha ha! Oh, I like you, Prince Chrom. I do hope you survive the tournament!" Flavia replied jovially. "Come, I'll show you the arena where the tournament is held. But be wary! I hear an equally able swordsman champions the West-Khan."

"Chrom grit his teeth. "He shall be defeated by Ylisse's necessity."

"Well spoken again— I look forward to seeing if you're as equally skilled with a blade!" Flavia said.

. . .

They had gone to see the arena, and after touring Chrom's future battlegrounds, the East-Khan of Regna Ferox had set the Ylissean party up in a suite of rooms in the castle. Chrom had gone to the training room graciously provided by Flavia to sharpen up his skills before the duel that would commence the next day and Chrom and Frederick decided to accompany him.

The two watched in silence as the lord was hacking furiously at the wooden practice dummies set up in front of him. There was definitely much at stake on the outcome of the coming duel and both the knight and tactician knew how heavily this must be weighing in on Chrom's mind.

"It's incredible," Robin said admiringly, "the dedication that he has."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from milord." Frederick replied simply. But the stoic tone didn't last long and a small smile broke through, "I'm happy to say that he is a lord that I do not mind serving and would give my life for him in an instant should he ask."

"I respect your dedication for Chrom, Sir Frederick-" Robin began but he was cut off by a raised hand from the other man.

"Just Frederick will do, Robin." The burly knight said curtly. Then he said in tone, "Likewise, I also respect your own drive and dedication to the Shepherds."

"Please." Robin said flatly. "If Chrom hadn't picked me up, who knows where I would be. Maybe even dead on the side of the road for all I know."

Frederick however, shook his head. "No, you had every opportunity to run as soon as we left to deal with the Plegian attack on Southtown. You coming after us to help us, and undoubtedly save us, in that battle, was your own will alone. Do not try to undersell your spirit, Robin."

The white haired man was stunned. He honestly had no words to reply with and so, just settled on a companionable silence while they continued to watch Chrom train.

"I noticed that for being relatively young, Chrom has some considerable skill at arms." Robin commented.

"Aye, that milord does. I was his personal training partner and instructor for many a year before milord became captain of the Shepherds." Frederick said, looking down at Robin, wondering where this conversation was going.

"I have my magic, and I can put up some showing with a blade, but I think I could use work with the latter." Robin said as he looked to the iron sword that he wore at his waist. He looked up at Frederick and said, "You taught one of the best swordsmen in Ylisse, think you can do the same for me and have me be his rival?"

This last part was said jokingly, but Frederick flared up and said, "If your only intention to want to better yourself is so you can—" Then stopped after he realized that the tactician had been jesting. He cleared his throat rather abruptly and put his hands behind his back in his usual trademark, serious pose before saying, "I suppose I could show you a thing or two. Wouldn't hurt for our tactician to add a new skill to his already sizeable repertoire."

They wandered over to a different part of the training room so that they wouldn't bother Chrom and the two picked up wooden drill swords. Robin shook off his long coat and placed his scabbarded sword on the ground with it. he assumed his ready stance, but Frederick simply stood straight. His sword tip was hanging down and he was only looking at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Are you ready?" The tactician asked hesitantly.

"I most certainly am." The reply came back.

"Hmm… Ok…" Robin called. In his mind, he knew that the results of these first few duels would be instantly decided before he'd be able to do anything. Frederick was a senior knight of Ylisse and had much more experience under his belt. But, and Robin grit his teeth as he thought this, who better to learn, than to learn from the man who had taught Chrom.

Raising the sword high, he dashed at Frederick and started aiming a stroke at his chest, before suddenly realizing that he was on the ground face first. Robin had let his guard up too high so the other man had simply swiped him in the upper torso (which with the wooden sword had knocked the air out of his lungs), then he had turned the sword around in his grip in one smooth motion and pulled Robin's feet from underneath him utilizing the crossguard and the imbalance from previously.

Frederick simply stood like a tower, sword aimed down before saying curtly, "Get up."

Robin did so.

"Your guard is much too high, your feet are in the wrong place, and you're making it too easy for me to read you!" Frederick shouted. He went over to correct the offending issues, slapping the areas of the body that needed alteration gently with the flat of his wooden blade.

The two sparred again, and Robin did slightly better this time, actually managing to clash blades a few times before once again, getting knocked down to the floor. Each time, the white haired tactician would just keep getting back up as Frederick would find something new to correct, or something from before made better and they continued this cycle for a time.

Finally, Robin slipped into combat, he sidestepped a downward stroke from Frederick and brought his own sword up to the knight's unguarded side, but with reflexes as fast as lightning, he felt a clash and resistance as the weapon had been brought back up almost immediately. However, Robin let the impact rebound his arm back and he had another follow up on the way almost immediately after the block that Frederick had to adjust for.

The other man thrust out, stamping his foot down to put more momentum behind the strike and Robin, unprepared for it, desperately tried to parry it. Instead, he very clumsily put his sword up to try to intercept it and the blade skimmed off the side instead of giving the off balance impact that the latter had been hoping for.

After a few more practice duels, Frederick decided to ramp up his instructor mode once again, even though Robin had improved considerably and (much to his surprise) rapidly after only a few pointers and application in what was as real to a duel as they could get.

"Your grip, stance, and breathing are wrong." Frederick said as his sparring partner got up on his feet once again. "Focus, Robin…. Again!"

Robin stared determinedly at his instructor and said, "Ready!"

Frederick however, held up a hand and shook his head. "That's enough for today." He said. "Your form has improved considerably compared to how we started. The pace of your progress is remarkable."

"Th-thanks." Robin said as he relaxed his body, but as he did this, the days training began to take its toll. "I feel like… I've got the basics down now." He collapsed to the floor. "But… S-so tired… I think I'm dying…"

"Ha! You're exaggerating! Or at least I pray so." said Frederick gravely. "Otherwise you might as well die here— you won't last long on the battlefield."

"I suppose…" said Robin through his ragged breathing. "But I'm exhausted nonetheless, but you… You've hardly broken a sweat?"

"I should certainly hope not." Frederick replied. "If a little training winded me, I would be in no shape to serve Chrom."

"Well, I'm impressed." said Robin, "You must train hard to build such endurance."

"On the road, I awaken before dawn each day to build the campfires…" Frederick began thoughtfully as he tried to recollect, "Then, whenever we march, I scout the trail ahead, removing rocks and such…"

He saw Robin's incredulous expression and shrugged. "Wouldn't do to have someone turn an ankle mid-campaign, now would it?"

"So that's why…" Robin muttered to himself. "I always thought it was just a fixation with pebble collecting…"

"Beg pardon," Frederick said in a suddenly very taciturn tone, "did you say something?"

Robin gulped, "Er, nothing important!" His expression grew serious however as he added with gratitude, "But I owe you for this training session, so let me help you with the camp duties when we're back on the road again." He smiled and said, "It'll be a snap with my magic. Find a tree, hit it with a lightning bolt, and presto!"

"... Instant forest fire." Frederick said dryly, completing the tactician's sentence.

Robin, taken aback slightly by the witty reply, exclaimed, "Oh! Well, yes, I do suppose that is one possibility…" He cleared his throat and said, "In any case, I do still owe you a favor. Whatever you like— name it and it's yours. You needn't decide today, of course. Think it over for the next time we meet."

"I am unaccustomed to asking favors, but if you insist, I shall find something." said Frederick with a smile.

The next day was the big tournament at Feroxi. The Ylissean party sat easy through most of the day, watching the Feroxi and other nation's warriors doing things from jousting, to wrestling, to other athletic events such as archery, javelin throwing and more. Chrom meanwhile had his own corner set aside from the arena where he was physically and mentally preparing for when he'd have to come out and fight in the final event of the day.

Robin, Lissa, and Frederick were with him as well and even though the blue haired prince had asked to be alone, the trio insisted on their presence, citing them to be necessary for "moral support".

As the day went on however, they could see that Chrom was clearly feeling the weight of what he had to do on his shoulders. The alliance with Regna Ferox would be crucial for Ylisse's fight against the Risen and to help deter Plegian attacks in the future and he knew that there were many people's lives in the balance on the outcome of this duel.

Robin however, put a firm hand on his friend's shoulder and said, "Chrom, you're going to win, so stop being all nervous about it!"

The latter returned a weak smile and replied, "I wish I could feel as confident as you're trying to inspire in me."

Lissa, with her usual cheery smile, said, "Awww c'mon, big brother! What does some random fighter chosen by the West-Khan have against you, the crown Prince of Ylisse?"

"For once, I'm inclined to agree with milady." Frederick said in his usual serious tone. "You are a fine swordsman, milord and there are few who could best you."  
"Exactly! So get out there and— FREDERICK! What do you mean "for once" you're inclined to agree with me?" Lissa said poutily.

"I was simply referring to—" Frederick began to say before being cut off.

Robin was about to enter this exchange himself but even through the sounds of the princess and senior knight arguing, he could see Chrom laughing at their antics and after smiling himself, decided that letting this nonsense argument run its course, might be the best sound strategy.

. . .

"People of Regna Ferox!" The announcer shouted in a booming tone to the spectators in the arena, "You have had the privilege of watching some of the greatest warriors in the world show their abilities in our tournament festival!"

Chrom heard all of this behind his closed part of the arena, waiting for his queue and when the doors would slam open, revealing his opponent. Gritting his teeth, he said to himself, "I have to win… For my friends, and everyone in Ylisse…"

"But now!" The announcer continued to say, "You all are still here for the main event, the duel that will determine who will rule Regna Ferox for the next five years!" There was a pause and the prince could tell that the speaker was obviously pointing to someone in the crowd. "Last time, it was Khan Basilio who took the coveted position of Ferox's ruler thanks to his champion, the silent swordsman from the east, Lon-qu!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, but it died away rather quickly as the orator presumably held up a hand for silence. "But he will not be representing Khan Basilio this time! But before I introduce him, give a Feroxi greeting for Khan Flavia's champion! This one is a real winner ladies and gentlemen! Hailing from Ylisse, please welcome, Prince Chrom!"

Almost as if it had been rehearsed, which in hindsight Chrom thought, it probably was, the massive doors swung open and torch light flooded in. Momentarily dazed by the sudden light after standing in darkness for some time, he straightened up and walked out the doors onto the arena itself.

The crowd was definitely giving a "Feroxi greeting" as they were bellowing their howls of assent to no end. Most of these people didn't even know who he was, but they knew that the event they were here to witness, would be one for the ages.

"Now, to introduce Khan Basilio's champion!" The announcer called. "Hailing from parts unknown, this warrior takes on the name of a legendary hero of old! And I have to say, he certainly fights like one! Even besting Lon'qu himself, please welcome, Marth!"

Chrom, who had been idly waiting to see who he was about to fight, jolted upright where he stood as he heard the name. "Marth?" He said to himself. Flashes flew past in his head of seeing the swordsman falling from the sky, slicing the Risen in half and then disappearing almost as fast as he had appeared. "Could it be?..."

And indeed it was. In the stands, the Ylissean party all watched, mouths agape.

"Marth?!" Lissa said in surprise. "The same one who came to our aid in the forest?"

"Ha! I knew we'd see him again!" Virion said in his lofty tone, "The way in which he wields the blade, so artistic, almost as beautiful as you, Sully m'dear!"

"Shut up, Ruffles!" The red haired cavalier shouted back and quickly sent a kick towards the complementor.

As Virion winced from the impact and tried making some other comment about "a rose's sting is a small price to pay for it's beauty", the other cavalier Stahl turned to Robin with a curious look on his face.

"I remember hearing about this "Marth" from you all, I wasn't there to see it happen so I can't say for myself, but…" And he paused before continuing. "Is it possible that this is the same Marth from legends? The real Hero-King?"

Robin so far, other than Stahl (and Kellam, who of course, went unnoticed by everyone), had been the only one in the group who hadn't made a loud exclamation upon hearing the name. He put a hand thoughtfully to his chin as he pondered Stahl's question.

"You know… It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility."

Clearly surprised by this answer from the logical tactician, Stahl asked, "Oh? Why do you say that?"

"Hmm…" Robin muttered. "When 'Marth' appeared, he came out of a portal in the sky right after the Risen started coming after us. If there was ever a fashion in which a legendary hero of old was to reappear, I wouldn't imagine it occurring any other way."  
"So you think that is really Marth then?" Stahl asked.

Again, Robin pondered. "It's not impossible. But there are things that puzzle me. In the tomes and scrolls I've read regarding the Hero-King, Marth, I've not read a single thing in the texts that have described an enemy like the Risen. And when this 'Marth' appeared, he already seemed to have a pretty good idea on how to dispatch them."

"Who is he then?" Stahl asked as he felt the serious vibe coming from his white haired friend next to him.

"... I'm not sure. Until he takes off that mask, I won't be able to make an accurate statement, it's not impossible that that's really him, but more than likely, he's someone using the name for weight and influence. Obviously, he has the swordsmanship to back it up, but why would he need to use the Hero-King's name? And for what purpose does he have in mind? Unless it's something unrelated to the Risen… but no… It can't be, the timing's too perfect. They have to be linked together I'm sure of it…"

Stahl was about to ask another question, then stopped himself as he saw Robin who was clearly trying to piece this puzzle together.

The tactician however, broke the silence by saying grimly, "Hopefully Chrom can win. I've seen Marth fight and as I said." He turned to face the viridian knight. "He has the skill to back up the name."

. . .

On the arena floor, the two combatants stood facing each other in silence. Chrom had a look of stunned disbelief on his face while Marth (even having the mask covering the top half of his face) remained stoic.

"Marth!" Chrom called. "One question, before we begin?"

The other swordsman did not acknowledge this statement.

"... Fine, then." Chrom said annoyed. "Our swords can speak for us!" And as he said this, the prince of Ylisse drew Falchion and spun it gracefully before bringing the blade forward into his ready stance.

Across the arena, Marth did the same… Exactly the same, and he was even holding… Falchion? It looked exactly like his own. But it couldn't be, only one Falchion had ever been forged throughout history, but here it was. The only other explanation was that it was a replica, but many had tried and failed to reproduce the legendary sword, and no attempt had been successful.

Chrom gasped upon seeing it and asked, "Where did you get that?"

Marth said nothing.

"There's no way…" The prince said quietly. Then he clenched his fist around the hilt of his sword and ran forward. He leaped into the air with tremendous force and the crowd began to belt their approval in the forms of raucous shouting. While he was in the air, he began to spin back down with terrifying speed aimed directly at his opponent.

Marth's sword flew up perfectly to meet his at the point of impact. He slid the blade forward which pushed Chrom back and the two exchanged blows, both letting out noises of exertion as they took swings at each other, each attempting to gauge the other's skill. However, as they were doing this, he continued to take the advantage on the prince and kept moving forward.

After a particularly skillful strike, Marth sent the other Falchion veering off into a different direction and he spun around gracefully, using the momentum from the movement and transferring that into his own slash.

Chrom however, saw the telegraphed movement for what it was and instead of attempting to block it, he tilted to one side to let the ringing steel pass harmlessly. However, Marth's sword was back up in an instant and Chrom really did have to bring his own skyward as well to block the almost immediate follow up.

Their blades clashed again several more times and Chrom asked, panting with the adrenaline in his veins, "Tell me, who taught you to fight like that?"

As he finished his question, the two were engaged in a lock and they struggled for a moment or two, before bouncing off each other's strength and jumping back.

The two duelists, in almost exactly the same motions, spun their swords around gracefully before entering a stance where they had their non fighting hand underneath their sword hand in a support gesture. This then culminated in them jumping forward like a pair of striking snakes at the same time, their weapons creating sparks as they flew past each other, their swords still emitting a loud ringing sound.

This time, as Chrom quickly turned to face the other direction, it was Marth that had leapt high into the air this time. And just as he had done earlier, began coming back down, sword point first, aimed directly at the prince.

Marth shouted, "My father!" In response to Chrom's earlier question and the latter barely dodged out of the way before the sword hit the ground. The former however, simply turned around with a "Hmph" and aimed his sword at Chrom's throat.

Chrom on the other hand, raised his own back up in the ready position. Again like before, Marth took the initiative and started charging him. A lightning fast thrust started coming his way but Chrom slid to the side and let the sword deflect off his own, the sounds of screeching steel echoing throughout the arena, once again to the crowd's delight.

The prince shoved his arm out, but Marth was akin to that trick and quickly withdrew his weapon before it could be put off balance. His sword came up once again and blocked the flurry of strikes that Chrom had started to unleash.

Slash went into slash which went into thrust which went into an overhead which then went into another thrust and then another slash. They came from all directions and any other warrior would have been overwhelmed by the first few, but Marth stood steadfast and blocked or parried them all.

Their swords flew back and engaged in a second lock. This time, Chrom asked, "Who is your father?" As he fought to overcome the other warrior.

"I've said enough for one day, sir." Marth replied simply.

"Hmph. Is that how it is?" Chrom asked, the anger starting to flare. Then, he remembered how this man, infuriatingly mysterious as he chose to be right now, did save their lives. "Lissa owes you her life, and for that you have my gratitude."

Marth's eyebrows above the mask curled upward in what was definitely surprise by the sudden remark.

Chrom however, grew firm once again. "But within these walls, I represent the East-Khan and the interests of Ylisse. I can't promise to stay my blade, but I vow not to shame you."

"Ha!" Marth laughed derisively, "Never expected such youthful arrogance. We shall see who shames who!" And he slid his blade out of the lock and knocked Chrom across the nape with the pommel of his sword.

Chrom saw a flash of light immediately after the impact and vaguely heard the crowd on the East-Khan's side groan audibly. He quickly rolled over to intercept the descending blade and caught it just in time. Gritting his teeth, he put his other hand on the flat of Falchion's blade to give some extra counter force to the one Marth was bearing down on him.

"I… I can't die here… Not…. not yet!" Chrom shouted as he fought to keep his only line of defense from sinking any lower, but it was no good, Marth was too strong and was unrelenting. Then, the prince saw it, an opening he could take. His opponent was right above him, bearing down with his sword, completely ignoring the lower half of his body.

And that would be his undoing.

With a roar purely charged by adrenaline, Chrom bent his legs forward underneath Marth's legs and positioned them so that they'd be aimed at his chest.

At the last second, Marth realized what he was about to do, but it was too late. Chrom kicked hard and sent his aggressor toppling over him and knocking the other man squarely onto his back.

The blue haired prince quickly got up to his feet and put a boot on Marth's Falchion before aiming his own down directly onto the latter's heart.

To his slight shock however, he saw Marth's mouth twist into a small grin as he said, "Impressive if not surprising." He relinquished his hold on Falchion's hilt and said, "I am bested."

A short while later, after the announcer had loudly proclaimed the victor of the duel and after all the pomp and circumstance that now had Flavia as the dominant ruler of Regna Ferox, Chrom had tried to corner Marth to question him, but as before, he had simply vanished once he was no longer needed.

"Blast it!" The prince said angrily. "Everytime, he finds some way to vanish."

The arena was nearly empty now, save for the servants cleaning after the mess, but Flavia, and the rest of his friends were walking towards him, all with smiles and looks of relief on their faces.

"Well fought!" Flavia said in admiration and put a hand on Chrom's shoulder. "You have my respect!"

The others chimed in with similar comments as Robin winked at his friend and mouthed something along the lines of, "I told you so."

Smiling himself, Chrom shook his head at Robin, and realized that Marth was probably the strongest opponent he'd ever faced. He was brought back to reality and joy with Flavia's next statement.

"And, perhaps more to the point, you have your alliance. I will provide Ylisse with the soldiers she needs."

"Truly? Thank you, East-Khan." Chrom said, hardly believing his ears.

The ruler of Regna Ferox laughed heartily. "I should thank you! It feels like ages since I've held full power. Come, my new friends! Tonight, we celebrate!" The blonde warrior walked off, shouting something to the few servants who weren't busy "to prepare a feast with food and drink and music unlike anything ever seen in Regna Ferox before!"

As Flavia departed however, a hugely muscled dark skinned man with a patch over his left eye approached them. "Bah! Any excuse for a party and Flavia jumps on it…"

"I'm sorry," Chrom said apologetically, "have we met?"

"I'm the West-Khan you so rudely removed from power!" The other man responded with some heat. "You're handy with a sword, boy. I thought for sure I'd picked the stronger man."

"What do you know about him?" Chrom asked curiously. He wanted to know how Marth ended up approaching the Feroxis.

"You mean that 'Marth'? Bah! He's just some sellsword with delusions of grandeur. All I know is that he turned up one eve and knocked my old champion flat!" Basilio said. He started cackling however and continued, "It was love at first sight, and I'm generally too old for such things!"

"Is it weird that I want to be friends with this man only mere moments after meeting him?" Robin whispered to Frederick.

The knight smiled back. "Not at all, it's men like Basilio who appreciate the simple things in life that you know you'll be lifelong friends with."

Puzzled, Robin asks, "How do you know he appreciates the simple things?"

Tapping the side of his head as a sign of wisdom, Frederick said slyly, "Believe me when I say, Robin. Either way, making friends and allies with the other half of Regna Ferox's power structure is certainly not a bad idea either way."

"Anyway, he's gone now. Up and fled the moment the tournament ended." Basilio answered when Chrom had asked him where Marth had went.

Lissa sighed dreamily and said, "He's so dark and mysterious…"

"Sounds like Marth's got at least one fan…" Robin said in response to this.

"Well, I mean, c'mon… He IS sort of dreamy, isn't he?" Lissa asked maybe not so innocently.

"Hey," Chrom said sharply, "YOU'RE sort of dreaming.

Lissa mock flinched as she laughed and said, "Yowch! Lighten up, big brother. I was just kidding!"

Frederick, the voice of reason as ever, spoke up. "Milord? Milady? If this fascinating discussion is over, we'd best return home. The Exalt will want this news of our new alliance immediately.

"Right as always Frederick." Chrom said. "After the celebrations with the East-Khan, we'll head back to Ylisse first thing in the morning."

"Hold boy," Basilio said, holding a hand up to stop the Ylissean group from leaving. "Before you go, I have a little present for you."

As the West-Khan said this, another man almost as tall as he was walked up. He wore shining lacquered leather armor and a navy colored tail coat where the ends came to just above the middle of his shins. He also wore a red sash around his waist and wore a chest piece with a collar that went up around his neck except for the front.

"This is Lon'qu." Basilio said, introducing the man. "He is my former champion. Not much for talking, mind you, but he's peerless with a sword. As good as Marth, in my mind. To be honest," And the Khan rubbed his head at this, "I can't figure out how Marth bested him so quickly."

"Marth beat him? But he looks so big and strong…" Lissa said going back to that dreamlike tone. She attempted to get closer to him, but he flinched back.

"Away, woman!" Lon'qu said loudly.

"Hey! Wh-what did I say?!" Lissa exclaimed, more than a little shocked.

Basilio however, started laughing. "Let's just say that ladies tend to put Lon'qu on edge! Nonetheless, he is capable. Perhaps he even has the makings of a Khan. Consider him West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean cause."

"You're certain about this?" Chrom asked hesitantly.

"Yes, yes. He's your man now." Basilio said without hesitation.

"And Lon'qu? You have no objections?" Chrom asked the stoic warrior.

"He gives orders. I stab people. I think our roles are clear." Lon'qu said simply.

"Alright then. Welcome aboard." said Chrom with a smile. "You're now a Shepherd."


	11. Paralogue 1: Sickle to Sword

**Paralogue 1: Sickle to Sword**

 **The Road back to Ylisse**

A small white haired boy was running as fast as his short legs could allow while an older white haired woman held his hand and running as well, her face looking as pale as her hair and despite how tired she must have been, her legs continued to pump as fast as the little boy's pace could allow: one tired foot after another tired foot.

The boy had been running without complaint for some time now, but the older woman knew that they could not keep up this pace all day and eventually they'd have to find somewhere to stop and rest. But right now, there was no cover provided to them in the vast open desert of Plegia and stopping here would surely mean death.

"Mother," the boy panted out weakly as he stopped running to catch his breath. "I know you said we needed to run, but I don't know if I can any longer, my feet and legs hurt really bad."

"Sweetie, I know it's a lot to ask, but please lend me some more of your strength ok?" The older woman said as she knelt down in front of her son. "Just for a little longer."

The worn out boy nodded and said, "Of course, mother. Anything for you."

"That's a good boy." The woman smiled and she patted the identical white hair.

Way off in the distance, she heard a faint shouting noise and cursed mentally. They had left Plegia's capitol at night and simply went off into the desert. There was a very faded half moon currently in the sky but as the winds began to pick up and kick the sand all around them, she knew that soon, there would be a sand storm and this would have to be their moment to use it as cover and try to find somewhere to rest.

If they weren't able to make it to a harbor the next day and barter or sneak aboard a ship leaving the country, they would surely die. The mother smiled sadly as she thought to herself. She'd be ok with dying, but under no circumstance was she going to let her son die. He had much to live for and a normal life that he deserved to live, one that would be untainted for the reason that he had originally been conceived. No child deserved that cruel destiny.

"Alright, let's go." She said and after grabbing the boy's hand again, they began to run once again.

On and on they went through the cold desert night as the wind began to get fiercer and fiercer and more sand was thrown into the air almost making it impossible to see farther than two meters in any given direction. Then, she saw it, a small mountain range that would offer some shelter, no matter how small.

"Mother," the boy said again, panting harder this time and clearly in pain, "I'm sorry, I really don't think I can run anymore."

Without another word, she picked up her son and began to run towards the mountains, hoping against hope that there'd be something, a cave, a bluff, anything for them to just sit and rest from the storm and to hide from their pursuers. After what seemed like an eternity, the duo reached the mountains and then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw… Yes! It was definitely a small cave. She made her way over to it.

At its entrance, she gently set her son down and then snapped her fingers. A small ball of fire appeared at her fingertips and she illuminated the inside of it, just to check that nothing particularly nasty was in there waiting for a weary traveller. After determining that it was safe, she picked up her son once again and went inside, deep enough so that any moon light from outside wouldn't reveal them should their pursuers still be on their tail.

"We'll stay here for a while." She told the young boy and smiled. "Don't worry, you can rest easy now." And she sat down and laid him out across her lap.

The boy smiled and closed his eyes, "Thank goodness, I wanted to keep running mother, I really did, but it hurt so much…"

She noted the obvious tone of voice that her son had used and the pain he had displayed earlier so her hand went down to the boy's feet and the shoes that he had been wearing. Easing them off gently, she snapped her finger again to get a better look and forced herself not to gasp at what she saw.

Both dried and fresh blood caked the inside of the shoe and she knew that it would look like that on the other side as well. She remembered how the boy had said many hours ago how his feet were hurting, but she still asked him to run anyway and he immediately agreed to do it.

Tears began welling up in the relatively young woman's eyes and she gripped onto her son just a little more tightly as he was still in the process of falling asleep in her lap. She forced herself not to start crying at the pain that she had put him through and resorted to just stroking his hair.

"Mother?" A sleepy voice asked.

Choking to keep her voice level, she replied, "Yes, dear?"

"Can you sing me a song?" The dreary boy requested.

The woman swallowed, forcing herself to keep her voice in check and nodded as if her son was still awake and looking at her and then said, "Of course."

Just then, the sound of horses galloping came to a halt and the woman's heart flew into her mouth as she looked back up into the entrance of the cave.

The boy seemed to feel this as he asked, "Mother? What's wrong?"

Shaking her head violently, she answered, "Nothing sweetie, just try to go back to sleep."

"Okaaay." The young boy said and he nestled up again and then quiet breathing began to resume.

"It's going to be impossible to find them in this." One voice harshly said.

"After the storm started, they could have gone anywhere." Another one rang.

"They could even have died in the desert and the sands buried them and we could have stepped over them, do we really need to search this mountain?"

"Enough, all of you." A more authoritative voice said. "It's bad enough that the high priest's wife and child managed to escape, it's going to be worse if we can't report back to him with any good news." There was a huge sigh. "But you all have a point, no reason for us to die out here if they're already dead. He can just find someone else to be a vessel I suppose."

"Don't let him hear you say that." One of the earlier voices said.

There was a gruff murmur of agreement and the man who was obviously the leader, said, "Alright, no point in dawdling, let's get back to the capitol."

Horse hooves rang out again but this time, they started going in the opposite direction. The woman sighed a huge breath of relief and the boy on her lap smiled as he said, "You were so tense mother, I'm glad that you can relax now."

She pat his head once more and said, "Me too." Then remembered the request he had made earlier and she said, "Ahh yes, you wanted a song." She cleared her throat and began to sing softly.

 _Land of bear and land of eagle,_

 _Land that gave us birth and blessing_

 _Land that called us ever homeward_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

 _We will go home, we will go home_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

Her son was definitely asleep now but she still continued to sing as the tears began welling up in her eyes once again and were starting to spill freely.

 _Land of freedom, land of heroes_

 _Land that gave us hope and memories_

 _Hear our singing, hear our longing_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

 _We will go home, we will go home_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

With the final word, her voice faded off. She looked down at her sleeping son and thought about everything he been through. Closing her eyes tightly, she began to cry.

. . .

"Robin? Robin? Hey Robin!"

The tactician was jolted awake and could see the face of Chrom staring down worriedly at him.

"By the gods, I came into your tent this morning to see if you needed anything and saw you asleep. I left you alone cause out of all of us, you definitely deserve the break the most. But we were preparing to leave about two hours ago and no one could wake you!" The prince said.

Robin wiped a hand across his brow and felt sweat there, he also felt what seemed like… Sadness? But he could not place why or how. He had dreamed something, but now he could not even remember how it began.

Stretching widely, he put on airs and said with a grin that was not genuine, "Mmmm, and here I thought I could get away with sleeping the day away."

Chrom however, was not convinced. "Have Lissa look at you or something, Robin." He pleaded. "When we get back to Ylisse, maybe I should look for more people to be our tactician as well besides you."

Robin however, brushed this aside and got up to his feet. "Chrom, I swear I'm fine. A few more training sessions with Frederick and some good coffee, and I'm sure I'll be as right as rain."

The prince sighed and shook his head. "Alright then, everyone else is ready to go, we'll pack your tent and then continue."

"Sounds like a plan," the tactician said as he threw on his coat and after stepping out and seeing how beautiful of a day it was, that momentary sadness he felt earlier was gone and now he smiled a genuine smile. "Alright, let's take on today!"

Throughout their trek, Robin was bombarded by everyone else in the party. They were all asking him how he was feeling, if they needed to stop, but he kept denying it every time, saying that "You're all worried for nothing! Believe me, I'm as chipper as I can be on such a day!"

After this, everyone else seemed convinced that this was the case and they began laughing and joking amongst themselves as per usual whenever on long marches such as this.

Chrom was riding his horse near the back of the column, watching Robin closely as he wrote on a small notepad, occasionally glancing up every so often to get a view of the land before grinning, and writing something down again in the notepad.

That night as they found a suitable suit to break and make camp, Chrom decided that now was good a time as any to get some practice in. He set up his tent, and pulled out the wooden drill sword, but not before a hugely muscled blonde man came swaggering up to him, just exuding confidence.

"Oh-hoh! You ready to take on Teach, Chrom?" Vaike said loudly, swinging his own wooden practice axe in a surprisingly graceful motion.

Chrom sighed and said, "Vaike, maybe we should find new partners, just to keep things fresh."

Vaike made a "pft!" sound before replying, "We're rivals. We have to fight! Ya can't turn your back on fate! Plus," and he tapped his boot on the ground while saying this, "I was really close to beatin' ya last time. Really, REALLY close."

"Er," Chrom began, "Right. If you say so. But still, I think we should—"

The prince was unable to finish this before the other man said in a slightly mocking tone, "No, it's fine. I know what you're doing. You're trying to psyche me out!"

Chrom, now slightly frustrated and letting it show, exclaimed, "Oh, come on! If we don't mix it up, we'll never keep ourselves sharp."

Vaike however, seemed to take this completely logical way of training and adapting as a challenge and said "Oh ho! I see. Not enough suspense for ya now, is that it? Then let's spice it up with a little wager! Everything we own—winner takes all!" His former confidence from earlier had now given to frustration as well, albeit a much different one from his commander.

Chrom sighed and put a hand on his face. "Vaike? We're training for a possible war. I can't very well gamble with the royal treasury."

The fighter seemed to take this point, and said reasonably, "Fine, fine! No gold. But how about this… The loser has to sneak up behind Frederick and pull down his pantaloons!"

"Are you mad?" Chrom asked incredulously. "Frederick would chop you up like firewood! And then make a fire!"

Vaike smirked and had the hugest smug grin on his face before saying, "What's this now? Is someone… chicken? Ba-KAWK" And he proceeded to impersonate some very loud (albeit very accurate) chicken clucks.

"Oh, ALL RIGHT!" Chrom shouted, "I'll spar with you!... Just please stop that ridiculous clucking."

Now all of the smugness disappeared and Vaike threw his hands in the air in victory." Yes! Now Chrom's got a full head of steam! Show ol' Teach what ya got!"

Robin, who had happened to see this entire exchange as he set up his tent next to Chrom's for the night, couldn't help but laugh as the two men began their sparring match.

Both men were without a doubt skilled at their craft, but just as obvious it was to tell that they were both skilled, it was also incredibly obvious as well that Chrom was… a much better duelist than Vaike. But Vaike by that same token, was much stronger than Chrom and that in some way was a decent counter.

Shrugging, Robin went back to setting his tent up while the sounds of fighting rang out from behind him.

The sounds of rustling and moving tent materials next to him made the tactician look up and he saw Sumia dragging forward her equipment as well as an avalanche of books.

"That's a lot of books you've got there, Sumia. Are you going to read all of them?" Robin asked.

The pegasus rider looked to where the question came from and smiled, "Oh, hello, Robin! Yes, this IS a lot of books, isn't it? Someone apparently must have thrown them out of a wagon, so I figured I'd give them a good home."

"What a splendid idea!" Robin said as he got up to assist Sumia with the weight of all the items she was carrying. "I always find it relaxing to do a little light reading in the evening."

Sumia nodded in thanks as the weight of all her things became a little less pronounced and she said, "Oh, you can borrow some if you want? I certainly can't read them all at once."

"You don't mind?" Robin asked.

"Of course not!" said Sumia cheerfully. She set down her bundle and began to rummage through the pile. "Here, which one looks good?"

Robin looked at said pile and said, "I'm not sure. What do you recommend?"

"Let's see…" And Sumia began to go through book after book before going, "Ooh, this one looks like a real page-turner!" She turned it over and read the cover, " 'Shanty Pete and the Haunted Pirates'!"

Er, thank you, but I don't like to read scary stories before bed." Robin said politely.

"Oh, of course not. Makes sense." Sumia said and she began fishing around once again. "Well, how about… 'A Simpleton's Guide to Pegasus Care'? Actually, that's something I should probably read myself later on!"

Robin laughed, "As you said Sumia, that's something better suited to a pegasus rider such as yourself rather than me."

"That makes sense," said Sumia and she put the aforementioned book in a different spot, making sure to note to herself to read it later that night as she dove once again into the pile. "Well, maybe third time's the charm. Let's see now… Oh, this looks great! 'Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon'!"

"... Do you have perhaps anything a bit more… literary?" Robin asked hopefully, praying to the gods that he wasn't being insensitive.

Sumia however, said in anguish, "Oh, pegasus poop! I'm USELESS at this! Useless, useless, useless!" She began to mime to herself and Robin could her saying, "Just pick him out a book, Sumia! It's so easy, Sumia! But noooooooooo! I'm too… darn… USELESS!"

And, much to Robin's terror, the pegasus rider let out a loud sniff and then started bawling. Immediately after this started, Robin said desperately, "Oh, goodness! Please don't cry! I didn't mean to imply…" He picked up the fallen book which (he had to admit) had a rather well done cover art of two fierce looking wyverns staring each other down over a canyon, and said, "A-actually, did you say 'Wyvern Wars'? I've always wanted to read that one! I mean, it was terror at high noon and everything, right? You, uh, can't beat that!..."

Sumia hastily stopped crying and after sniffing again, said, "R-really? You want that one? Oh, I'm so happy… I hope you like it!"

More to himself, Robin muttered quietly, "Pretty sure I have to at this point…"

"What was that, Robin?" Sumia asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Oh! U-uhh, nothing!" The tactician said loudly as he put the book into his coat. "Let me help you with putting your tent up!"

"Oh no!" Sumia said brightly as she shook her head. "I can do this myself, thank you for helping me carry everything here though!"

"I didn't do much, but you're welcome all the same." said Robin with his own smile.

Just then, a particularly nasty swing caught Vaike in the ribs and the fighter let out a huge "whoof!" And he heard Chrom shout, "There! I've gotten the best of you!"

"No one gets the best of the Vaike!" The aptly named Vaike shouted and he tackled Chrom and took him down to the ground and they began to wrestle, rather violently by training standards.

"Have they always done that?" Robin asked Sumia, pointing to the mess of wriggling, wrestling bodies.

"Oh, yes!" Sumia laughed. "Ever since I was a part of the Shepherds at least, they'd always spar together. Most of the time, they'd challenge each other but Captain Chrom would often get the better of Vaike. But Vaike also got his fair share of wins as well! Nowadays, their sparring is less often, but still just as vigorous!"

Just then, Lissa stamped up angrily looking at the mess of moving body parts that were her older brother and Vaike and she said loudly, "STOP, YOU IDIOTS!"

Immediately, the two men did so, and in the same motion, got out of their wrestling position and knelt meekly at Lissa's feet.

You're going way too hard! One of you might actually get hurt!" And she sniffed loudly.

Before she could go berating the two men, a voice from off the trail called out loudly, "HALP! PLEASE, HALP!"

"What the—?" Chrom said and he got back up to his feet. There was a very young man running at full speed towards their campsite, he was wearing the garb of a simple villager and was wearing a cooking pot on his head, but he was still shouting. To the man still kneeling, the prince said, "Vaike, get your axe. And spread the word around the campsite to tell everyone else to ready up as well."

"Yes, Chrom." Vaike said quickly in such a tone of respect that it actually surprised Robin. He shouldered his wooden practice axe and began to rally the others while retrieving his real axe.

Just then, the villager stumbled into the middle of where Chrom, Robin, Lissa, and Sumia were standing and his face was pale with fear as he pleaded, "Please sirs, you gots to help us! I'm beggin' you!"

Chrom put a hand up to try to calm the hysterical young man and he said, "Whoa, whoa, slow down. Tell us your name and what happened?"

The villager swallowed and then said, "My name's—"

He was cut off by a man wearing a skull adorned headpiece who shouted, "Oy! There's the wee piglet!"

Chrom narrowed his eyes. "Great… Bandits"

Robin reached for the wind tome in his tent and said, "I'll arm up, Chrom, who knows how many of them are out there as well."

"What's this?" The bandit called mockingly as Chrom stood protectively in front of the villager. "A little lordling come to watch over his chattel?" And he began to laugh. Then he saw the brand on Chrom's arm and immediately knew who these group of people were. "Aw, damn me!" He shouted. "Sh-Shepherds!"

Chrom drew his sword and with a fierce look on his face, said, "That's right. So What'll it be? Run and live? Or fight and die?"

Terrified, the bandit began to run off in the direction where he came, shouting out loud, "SHEPHERDS, THERE ARE SHEPHERDS!"

"Don't run away from me!" Chrom roared and was about to go after him, but just then, a whiz and a flash of fire flew past his ear as both an arrow and fireball went streaking towards the fleeing bandit.

They both struck him at the same time and he fell over, the momentum from his running carrying him over another meter or so before he lay still on the ground.

Miriel's hand was smoking, a fire tome in the other, while Virion flipped his hair back and had a smug expression on his face.

"My word, dear Miriel!" The archer said, "What a fine cast, twas as almost beautiful as—"

"Flirt with Miriel and I'll have your eyes, Ruffles." Sully growled as she led her horse out, wearing her full armor and carrying a lance.

Virion turned with triumph back to the cavalier and said, "My goodness! It seems that I have won over your heart to the point where—"

"Say another word, Ruffles, and you won't like where I put this lance in the next five seconds." Sully said. "And I'm saying that because more than anything, Miriel will probably just end up wanting to study you."

She wasn't wrong, as the mage looked Virion up and down and then said crisply, "Yes, I do believe you'll make for an excellent test subject."

"Ha! Milady knows when to acknowledge— Wait, what was that last bit?" Virion said, clearly confused.

"Save it you two!" Robin called firmly. "Either way, good shots, both of you." And the duo nodded in response to the praise.

Chrom turned around and said, "Quickly, lad. What happened?"

The young man who had overheard the conversations about Shepherds and knew who they were himself, knew that this had to be Prince Chrom, he was famous across the Halidom and he stammered, "Y-yes, milord! Right away, milord!... Er, it please Your Graciousness."

Making a gesture for silence, the blue haired man said, "Maybe just hold off on titles for now. What's your name?"

The villager cleared his throat. "Donny. Er, that is, Donnel…. Your Majestyful."

"That'll do." Chrom nodded. "Tell me what happened, Donnel."

"I live in the village just beyond, sir. That rotten-toothed, pig-stinkin' bandit you just offed attacked us with a group!" Suddenly horrified at what he said, he added hesitantly, "Er, pardon my language, Your Lordliness." He hung his head sadly, "I'm the only one that got away, and even then just barely. They were roundin' up the others to haul 'em off to a bandit camp… Please, sir! You gots to save them folks! My ma's one of 'em, and… she's all I got in this world! Please, Your Royal Highness!"

"Blasted bandits… Is there no peaceful life they won't leave untouched?" Chrom said to himself. Then to Donnel, said, "All right, Donny. We'll save your ma, and village, can you lead us to her?"

"Aw, thank you, milord! Thank you! Just follow me, Your Sirness!" The villager said.

Turning to Robin, Chrom asked, "Who do you want to bring with us?"

The tactician thought for a moment then called out loud (for everyone else had gathered upon Vaike's orders), "Lissa, Vaike, Stahl, Lon'qu, Sumia and Miriel, come with us! The rest of you, stay and guard the campsite!"

"Yes, Robin!" They all said in unison and the people he had called up walked forward.

"Now, double time everyone! Let's go in and stop these bandits before anyone gets hurt!" And following Donnel, they began to run off into the night.

"... And you're sure a'this?" The bandit leader Roddick asked one of his minions.

"On the grave of my sainted mother, I swear it." The man replied. "I saw 'em kill poor ole Kal and I ran back here! It was Chrom and his Shepherds, and no mistake!"

The bandit leader however, began to laugh and said, "A fancy lord'll fetch a high ransom from noble folk. We'll have the little man squealin' for mercy in no time!"

Just then, an older woman called, "We got nothin' left to take, sirs! Please, let our children go!"

"Quit yer bleatin'!" Roddick shouted and he slapped the woman violently. "Say… I know you… You're the wife of the man what broke my rib last time we were 'ere!"

"And you killed him for it, monster! I wish he'd done for you first…" the woman said bitterly.

"We'll catch your son, no doubts! Small wonder the brat's got more brass than brains if you're his mum. Guess we'll see for ourselves when we catch him, eh? Maybe we'll even make ya watch as we gut him!" And he began to laugh cruelly as Donnel's mother turned pale with fear.

The small party crept silently and Donnel said, "This here's where they've taken up camp, Your Lordshipness."

"Er… right. Thanks, Donny. Stay close, now" Chrom said as he examined the campsite.

Robin was doing the same as well. "About twenty men… No archers… The villagers are all grouped up together in the middle…"

Donnel was talking to Chrom, asking about what he had said earlier, "Beg, pardon, milord? You don't mean…? I… I can't fight, sir! I ain't never even stuck a pig before!"

"Oh, sorry." Chrom apologized. "I just assumed… I mean… Look, just stay here. You'll be fine."

Donnel however, was remorsing himself, "I wish I was strong as you sirs and madams! Kick that scum out single handed, I would!"

"Then you should fight and grow stronger." Chrom said determinedly.

"But I ain't—"

"No man is born a warrior, Donny. And farm work makes for fine training— a sickle's not far from a sword, after all. Bandits may be tougher than wheat, but the principle's the same.

Donnel hesitated still, but Chrom said, "Donny, if you fight with us, then fight. But it is your choice and if you don't think you can do it, stay here where it'll be safe and I promise we'll get your ma and people out of here alive."

Just then, Robin tapped him on the shoulder and beckoned everyone to listen to him. "Alright, so the village people are being kept in the center there, our first priority should be making sure that nobody harms them during this fight. Miriel." And he pointed to the mage. "Are you able to make barriers of any kind with your magic? Fire? Wind? It doesn't matter. Anything to provide a cover and shield for the villagers?"

"I can indeed conjure protective magic. I should have the power to form a circle around those villagers."

"Good." Robin said. "You'll go and ride with Sumia, she'll take you up high so you can get the best view to provide the barrier. Once you're up there, throw down magic at any bandits that look like they might be trouble." Turning to the pegasus rider, he said, "They don't have archers or mages, so you don't need to worry about maneuvering to avoid anything, just stay up there and give Miriel any clear shots she needs."

Sumia nodded, determined. "Yes, sir!"

"All right… Chrom, Lon'qu, Vaike and myself will charge the bandits once Miriel's provided cover and begun her barrage. After we engage, Stahl, I need you to mount up and trample any bandits down that decide to outnumber and overwhelm us."

The prince, fighter and the myrmidon nodded. The latter unsheathed his katana and spun it through the air a couple times, then he checked the sharpness and re-sheathed the weapon."

"Lissa, you learned how to use that staff that can heal us from a distant, right?" Robin asked.

The blonde girl piped up, lifting up said staff and saying, "Yep! Now I don't need to be next to you to heal you!"

"Perfect," Robin said, "Anytime you see one of us hurt or you think we need healing, try to send it our way, I know it might be hard considering you just learned it, but we'd greatly appreciate it!"

"No problems!" Lissa said, sticking her tongue out, "Nothing more to ask for than Ylisse's best healer!"

Stahl stood up, checked the armored plates on his horse and after seemingly being satisfied with what he saw there, mounted up and then drew his sword. "I'll be on standby until I see you three start fighting."

"Good, everyone know what to do?" Robin asked.

And they all in turn, acknowledged him in the positive.

"All right… Sumia, Miriel, you're up. As soon as we see the barrier go up and Miriel start raining her magic down, we'll start our attack."

Sumia checked the lance in her stirrup, then mounted up on Larinthe. She extended a hand to help Miriel as well, but the mage, surprisingly jumped lightly onto the pegasus' back comfortably behind Sumia.

Slightly surprised, the pegasus rider overcame this and then said, "Hyah! Up girl, come on, give me some height!"

The pegasus responded enthusiastically by almost going straight up into the air in what seemed like an instant, then they began flying forward towards the campsite.

About a minute later, the rest of them watching from the crest overlooking the campsite saw a great circle of fire surround the middle, which made the bandits barely watching it jump with surprise, but not as much as when they started taking fireballs to the chest. Panic became apparent as Sumia and Miriel began their airborne assault and Robin nodded to Chrom.

"Our turn."

Robin whipped out the wind tome under his coat and drew his sword as Chrom and Lon'qu did the same. Vaike shouldered his axe and then with a battle cry, they jumped from behind the tree cover and began to charge the campsite.

The bandits, now seeing something that they could fight, roared their own challenge as well and picked up their weapons to charge them.

The first bandit Robin clashed with had a small one handed axe, he swung it downward but it was blocked by the iron sword that the tactician carried, he parried it to one side, and then with the wind tome in his other hand, blasted him with a tremendous amount of force to send him flying, he then shouted, "Chrom!"

The prince turned around to see the bandit flying towards him and with Falchion raised, he cut cleanly and slashed the bandit right through the chest. Then as he heard someone shouting from behind him, he stepped to the side where another bandit blundered through before pirouetting and then thrusting out to take him from the back.

Vaike was swinging wildly, this way and that, knocking or cutting anyone down who got within reach of his arm and by extension to that arm, his axe. He aimed a mighty downwards swing to where his weapon sunk about 6 inches through his attacker's shoulder before pulling it out and hitting someone with the flat of the huge blade while shouting, "Come on! Give Teach a challenge here!"

But while Vaike's strengths as a warrior lay in his brute strength, but still smart way of fighting, Lon'qu truly was in every term, a master swordsman. He held his katana calmly as bandit upon bandit encroached themselves on him and he continually dispatched them with as little effort as humanly possible. One bandit with a sword started swinging a huge sideways slash at his neck, but Lon'qu ducked, raising his own blade above his head, he dashed to the side, letting it deflect off of his, the sounds of screaming steel being audible before he swung his sword around and delivering the same stroke intended for him.

A head fell to the ground before the rest of the body followed and now, every bandit in the campsite began to run at them, weapons raised. Bolts of lightning began to rain down and strike some of them, but they were about to be swarmed.

Just then, heavy hooves began to sound and Stahl charged in, sword raised and pointed forward. He went around to a different side of the battle so that he would be charging in at the bandit's side, instinctively, they turned to see the armored horse and his rider running them down. The horse knocked over and trampled two people to death before Stahl, with his cavalry sword started swinging left and right to those who tried to run.

Robin slashed a bandit across the stomach and his opponent shouted in pain before the tactician sent a gust of powerful wind to send him soaring. Then as he went higher and higher, a fireball cast from Miriel struck him. He turned around and clumsily dodged to the side as a man with an axe almost cleaved him in two, but the bandit simply, and very abruptly smacked Robin with the butt end of the weapon, the force of it dazing him and he was forced to the ground.

Just then, before his attacker could finish him off, he heard another battle cry and saw Donnel charging with a pitchfork, running the man through as the makeshift weapon did a spear's job just as well.

The bandit's eyes went wide with shock as Donnel continued driving the pitchfork deeper and deeper, "That's for murderin' my pa!" The bandit fell over and Donnel seemed to realize what he did as he stood still for a moment. "I… I…"

Robin had retrieved his sword and was about to thank the villager, but then saw another bandit about to swing at Donnel, but he didn't have his pitchfork as it was still embedded in the man he had killed.

"Donny!" Robin shouted. "Duck!" And as the villager shockingly did so, he threw the sword he was holding and it went straight into the bandit's chest and the heavier weapon dragged him down to the ground.

Donnel looked at the dead body of the bandit as his blood began to seep out onto the ground. There was something akin to terror there and Robin hurriedly grabbed him.

"Donny, Donny look at me!" The villager did so. "You saved my life, I can't thank you for that, and I know how you must be feeling right now, every warrior does during their first kill, but we need to focus on saving your ma and people remember?"

"That's… That's right!" Donnel said with heat after hesitating. "We gots to save them! I'll fight with y'all!" And he retrieved his pitchfork.

. . .

After a few more minutes of fighting, the bandits that hadn't already been killed, finally threw down their weapons and surrendered. As Vaike and Stahl went around binding their wrists and confiscating said weapons, Robin went over to Chrom and Lon'qu and said to the myrmidon, "You fought extremely well. It's no wonder you were Basilio's champion and he praised you so."

Lon'qu shrugged. "These bandits weren't very skilled."

"And you were." Robin insisted. "Either way, you're going to have to train me with a sword sometime."

He gave a very non committal grunt.

Sumia landed Larinthe back to the ground and as they both dismounted, Miriel snapped her fingers and the barrier of fire that had surrounded the villagers vanished with a "whoosh!". The villagers began running over, thanking Chrom and the Shepherds, praising them as heroes.

Donnel however, shouted in triumph, "We did it! We're rid of them bandits for good and all!"

Chrom put an arm around the young man and smiled, "A worthy first victory, Donny. You fought well."

Just then, Donnel's mother came up and he turned around and grinned widely. "Ma! Ma, it's me!"

"Oh, Donny thank goodness you're safe! I was worried near to death, boy!" She hugged her son, then to Chrom, said, "I can't thank you enough for savin' my son and all of us, milord." Then she hissed towards her son, "Donny! WHere are your manners?! Take a knee and thank His Lordliness!"

Chrom laughed and shook his head, "It's alright milady, he doesn't need to do that."

Donnel however, did say, "Er, I can't begin to repay all what you done for us, sir! Th-thank you!"

"Hone your potential and use it to keep your people and village safe." Chrom said. "Unless there was something else, we're going to take these prisoners and return to the capitol."

Just as they were about to turn around and walk off, Donnel called after them. "W-wat! Please!"

"Something wrong?" Chrom asked.

"I has a request, sir." Donnel said, a determined look on his face. "If it please Your Graceliness… Take me with you, milord! Lemme be a Shepherd like you! I'm good with livestock, I am! And I'm willing to learn to fight too, please sir!"

Donnel's mother however, said in protest, "Hush now, you fool boy!"

The young man however, shook his head and retorted, "I want to hone my… whatever he said. I want to keep this place safe! I never thought I was good for nothin' more than shovelin' dirt. But milord showed me there's more I can do. More I needs to be doing!"

"You needs be knowin' your place, boy! A farmhand's no fit for a royal—"

Chrom consulted Robin for a single second, but when he saw his white haired friend smiling broadly, he returned it and then said, "Actually, we'd be thrilled to have him. The Shepherds need every good man we can find, and your son fought bravely."

Donnel's mother flushed and she stammered, "Y-you're very kind to say as much, Your Lordshipness, but…" She let out a long sigh, then to her son, said, "Well, you're a man grown now, Donny. I s'pose you can make up your own mind."

"Aw… ma…." the young villager said and he hugged his mother as they both began to shed tears.

"You just come home safe, love." His mother said tearfully, but yet with a proud smile. "I'll see that the village is still standin' when you return a hero. Off with you, then! Glory's calling your name, boy!" But still she held on for just a few moments longer, trying to contain her tears. Not tears of sadness, but ones of pride at the man that her son would become.

Robin wiped a tear from his own eye as well and then something flashed in his mind.

" _Sweetie, I know it's a lot to ask, but please lend me some more of your strength ok?"_

" _Of course, mother. Anything for you."_

Just as quickly as it came, it was gone and Robin was left puzzled. Why did seeing this villager say goodbye to his mother make him feel this way. He struggled to remember, then as his head started to hurt, he shook his head and decided to think about it later.

"I ain't fightin' for glory, Ma. I'm fightin' for you!" Donnel said with a smile. "But if I do find some glory, I'll be sure to bring it home for you!"

As they returned to their campsite and relayed what happened to the others, they then shared a meal together, sitting and laughing under the stars as they sat around the fire.

"So, Donny." Vaike began. "Have any good music that we can sing along to?"

"Why, you betcha!" The former villager said and he launched into a bouncing number about adventure and riding through the trees. The chorus had an easy enough rhythm and they understood the lyrics after hearing Donnel sing them a couple of times.

Next thing they knew, everyone started belting out or singing their personal favorites around the campfire. Most of them were happy, upbeat sounding pieces. Occasionally someone had something a little more solemn. Lon'qu as expected passed on singing and Kellam did as well, though in the case of the latter, it wasn't so much by choice as no one noticed him.

When they finally got to Robin, Lissa asked curiously, "Do you know any songs, Robin? You could have picked one up in your time with us after joining the Shepherds."

The tactician however, shook his head. "I wish I could take the time to listen to wonderful music such as these but I'm afraid that I—" Once again, he saw white in his vision and a loud ringing sounded in his ears, followed by a piercing headache. But before he could throw his hand on his forehead, the white, the ringing, and the headache had all gone.

"Actually," Robin said hesitantly. "I do know one song."

"Ahh, our friend Robin, a minstrel as well as a tactician, magician, and swordmaster!" Virion said loftily as he tossed his long hair back. "Almost as talented as myself I dare say, do enlighten us with this tune, Sir Robin!"

"Yeah, Robin! Sing!" Sully said, finally agreeing with the archer. "We usually see you so uptight and studying, it'd be nice to see this different side to you."

Next thing he knew, everyone in the campsite was chanting, and asking him to sing, to which the white haired man finally gave way with a defeated smile and said, "All right! All right! I will sing to please you all! Then you'll quickly roar at me to stop when you realize that I'm actually dreadful!"

Friendly abuse came his way as well as a line of, "Come on, get on with it!" and he cleared his throat.

 _Land of bear and land of eagle,_

 _Land that gave us birth and blessing_

 _Land that called us ever homeward_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

 _We will go home, we will go home_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

In comparison to earlier, no one was singing along or stamping their feet as Robin sang the peaceful, but yet still mournful melody. They all sat silent and listened as he continued.

 _Land of freedom, land of heroes_

 _Land that gave us hope and memories_

 _Hear our singing, hear our longing_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

 _We will go home, we will go home_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

It was Chrom who first began to sing with his friend as well. And eventually, everyone quietly began to sing the chorus of going home over any obstacle. Even Lon'Qu quietly mumbled the lyrics in a tone that one would call melodic. In the last stanza, all their voices died away to let Robin finish singing the song.

 _Land of sorrow, land of heartbreak_

 _Land that gave us light and courage_

 _Hear our voices, hear our pleading_

 _Hear our hearts and hear them beating_

 _We will go home, we will go home_

 _We will go home across the mountains_

And Robin let the last word fade off, but, and he couldn't tell or explain why, there were tears in his eyes and he quickly looked downwards to hide them from his friends.

None of them had missed it, and everyone was quiet.

"I've never heard that one before, sir." Donnel said.

"Neither have I." Frederick added. "But it is a wonderful piece nonetheless."

Lissa touched Robin's arm gently and asked quietly, "Are you alright?"

Robin stood up abruptly, his head still down, before saying curtly, "I'm turning in." And without waiting for a reply, he strolled away from the fire and towards his tent. After going through the waterproof canvas flaps, he collapsed onto his bed roll. Not even bothering to take off his coat and tears began to keep coming with no signs of stopping.

"Who am I?"


End file.
